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REMINISCENCES  OF 


THE   CIVIL   WAR. 


k  THE  STORY  OF  THE  CAMPAIGNS  OE 
STONEWALL  JACKSON, 

AS  TOLD   BY  A 

HIGH  PRIVATE  IN  THE  "FOOT  CAVALRY. 


From  Alleghany  Mountain  to  Chancellorsville. 

WITH   THE    COMPLETE   REGIMENTAL   ROSTERS    OE    BOTH    THE 
GREAT-ARMIES  AT    GETTYSBURG. 


By  JOHN  S.  ROBSON, 

LATE  OF  THE  5 2d  REGIMENT  VIRGINIA  INEANTRY. 


durham,  n.  c.: 
The  Educator  Co.  Printers  and  Binders, 


PREFACE. 


To  the  Reader — Greeting: 

My  chief  object  in  this  work  is  to  get  something  to 
support  myself  with — in  fact,  it  is  a  scheme  founded 
on  food,  raiment  and  shelter,  which  I  find  hard  to 
come  at  by  one  in  my  situation,  there  being  so  few 
positions  open  to  a  man  maimed  as  I  am,  with  no  more 
education  and  business  training  than  I  possess ;  but, 
nevertheless,  I  am  no  applicant  for  charity. 

I  honestly  believe  that  my  little  book  is  well  worth 
its  price,  and  I  claim  for  it  strict  historic  accuracy  in 
all  its  details. 

I  have  been  materially  aided  in  its  preparation  by 
gentlemen  well  posted  by  experience  and  reading  in 
the  history  of  the  war,  and  not  one-half  of  the  col- 
lected data  has  been  used,  because  space  could  not  be 
afforded,  but  I  hope  to  follow  this  by  another,  if  this 
candidate  for  public  favor  should  be  successful,  and 
my  experience  in  the  past  with  the  big-hearted,  gen- 
erous people  of  this  country — North  and  South — justi- 
fies my  promise  to  finish  the  work  now  begun,  and  add 

"^  some  pages  to  the  history  of  the  ' ' Cruel  War' '  which 

q  would  otherwise  be  forgotten. 

0° 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  Year,  1898, 
By  John  S.  Robson. 


HOW  A  ONE-LEGGED  REBEL  LIVES 


CHAPTER  I. 

In  fulfilling  the  promise  of  my  title  page,  I  must 
begin  at  the  beginning,  and  tell  how  I  came  to  be  a 
"one-legged"  rebel,  which  interesting  result  was 
brought  about  by  the  skill  and  enterprise  of  certain 
surgeons  of  the  C.  S.  A.,  who  amputated  the  other 
leg;  but  it  goes  without  telling  that  the  reason  I 
was  a  rebel,  "so-called,"  was  my  Old  Virginia  birth, 
which  occurred  in  Rappahannock  county  on  the 
26th  of  March,   1844. 

I  do  not  contemplate  autobiography,  nor  very 
much  of  general  history,  and  if,  in  putting  my  story 
together,  I  should  fail  to  round  my  periods  hand- 
somely and  omit  the  high-toned  and  classic  allusions 
to  Achilles  and  Hector,  the  Trojan  Horse  and 
Ulysses,  Richard  and  Saladin,  these,  more  or  less, 
of  the  boys  who  figured  in  ages  past,  and  which 
should  adorn  my  pages,  I  hope  my  lenient  reader 
will  travel  the  road  far  enough  with  me  to  learn 
that  I  am,  unfortunately,  lacking  in  classic  lore, 
and  cannot  compare  in  erudition  with  a  "Mosby," 
a  Gen.  "Dick"  Taylor  or  a  John  Esten  Cooke,  who 


6  How  a  One-Legged  Rebel  Lives. 

would  fight  you  a  battle,  gloriously,  to-day  with 
the  sword,  and  fight  it  over  again  for  you  to-morrow 
as  gracefully  with  the  pen.  I  was  "nothing  but  a 
private,"  and  a  very  junior  one  at  that,  when  the 
late  disturbance  between  the  top  and  bottom  of  the 
map  of  the  United  States  occurred,  but  I  took  a 
very  lively  interest  in  the  arbitration  from  its  very 
commencement. 

At  that  time  I  was  a  sixteen-year-old,  under  in- 
struction at  Mossy  Creek  Academy,  in  Augusta 
county — just  the  right  age  to  have  a  good  deal  of 
fool  in  my  composition,  and  at  exactly  the  right 
place  to  pevelop  that  quality,  for  if  there  was  any 
one  point  more  than  another,  in  all  Virginia,  where 
the  war  fever  struck  hard,  as  an  epidemic,  it  was 
in  Augusta  county  ;  and  it  required  long  time  and 
strong  medicine,  too,  to  cure  it  up  there  in  the 
valley  ;  but  it  was  cured,  and  now  we  no  more  wish 
or  expect  to  see  the  armed  legions  of  sectional  hate 
wheeling  and  clanking  through  blood  and  desola- 
tion in  the  beautiful  Valley  of  Virginia. 

On  the  16th  of  June,  1861,  my  patriotism  boiled 
over,  and  I  volunteered  under  Capt.  Joseph  Huddel, 
in  Company  D,  52d  Regiment  Virginia  Infantry, 
commanded  then  by  that  noble  Virginia  gentleman, 
statesman  and  soldier,  Col.  John  B.  Baldwin,  of 
Staunton,  and  we  remained  near  that  place  until 
the  10th  of  September ;  being  licked  into  soldier 


How  a  One-Legged  Rebel  Lives.  7 

shape  by  dint  of  discipline,  drill,  and  duty,  when 
we  marched,  by  way  of  Buffalo  Gap,  to  Crab  Bot- 
tom, in  Highland  county,  at  the  head  of  Jackson 
River. 

At  this  place  stands  a  barn,  the  property  of  Jacob 
Hebner,  from  the  eaves  of  which  the  water  flows  north 
and  south — one  way  into  the  Potomac  and  the  other 
into  the  James,  the  head-springs  of  the  two  rivers 
being  here  only  a  stone's-throw  apart ;  and,  like 
the  sentiment  of  the  country  at  that  time,  taking 
the  widest  divergent  direction  to  be  brought  together 
again,  after  measuring  their  full  course,  in  one 
common  destiny  at  the  ocean. 

It  is  interesting,  sometimes,  to  '.he  old  veterans, 
to  go  back,  in  retrospect,  to  the  days  of  1861,  when 
soldier-life  was  gilded  with  the  glory  that  was  to  be, 
and  we  were  making  our  first  preprarations  for  the 
field  in  a  war  which  we  were  taught  to  think  would 
be  a  very  short  one — ninety  days  at  most,  but  which 
tried  our  faith,  nerve  and  patience,  for  four  of  the 
longest  years  that  are  ever  crowded  "into  the  life- 
time of  one  generation.  And  believing  that  some 
account  of  what  we  did  and  how  we  managed  at 
that  time,  will  be  of  interest  to  the  general  reader, 
and  especially  to  the  children  of  the  old  soldiers,  I 
have  ventured  to  draw  on  the  treasury  of  memory, 
and  the  intererting  little  book  of  my  friend,  Carl- 
ton McCarthy,  for  what  is  fast  fading  away.     We 


8  How  a   One- Legged  Rebel  Lives. 

who  passed  through  it  can  smile  now  at  our  crude 
ideas  of  what  was  then  necessary  to  make  up  the 
outfit  for  war  of  the  infantry  soldier,  but  it  won't 
be  long  until  we  shall  all  have  passed  "over  the 
river,"  and  the  memory  of  those  little  things  which 
made  the  Confederate  soldier  what  he  was,  will  die 
too  ;  and  though  the  historians  will  tell,  with  elo- 
quent pen,  of  the  grand  movements  of  armies  and 
of  the  deeds  of  the  Generals,  he  will  hardly  stop  to 
explain  how  the  private  soldier  was  evolved  from 
the  farmer,  the  clerk,  the  mechanic,  the  school-boy, 
and  transformed  into  the  perfect,  all-enduring,  un- 
tiring and  invincible  soldier,  who  broiled  his  bacon 
on  a  stick  and  baked  his  bread  on  a  ramrod. 

The  volunteer  of  1861  was  a  very  elaborate  insti- 
tution, and  entertained  the  idea  that  he  was  little, 
if  any  inferior  to  Napoleon,  in  his  capacity  and 
possibilities,  and  he  of  the  South  was  very  sure  that 
he  was  a  match,  in  the  field,  for  any  five  Yankees 
in  the  United  States  ;  an  idea  which  was,  to  a  cer- 
tain extent,  eliminated  along  with  other  erroneous 
ones  which,  at  the  outbreak  of  the  disturbance, 
were  entertained. 

In  his  preparation  for  the  campaign  the  Confeder- 
ate soldier  was  forced  to  depend  upon  home  resources, 
and  in  the  first  place  he  thought  big  boots,  the 
higer  the  better,  were  essential  to  his  military  ap- 
pearance ;  but  he  learned  after  awhile  that  a  broad 


How  a  One-Legged  Rebel  Lives.  9 

bottomed  shoe  was  very  much  lighter  to  carry  and 
easier  on  his  ankles. 

He  also  thought  he  must  wear  a  very  heavy  pad- 
ded coat,  with  long  tails  and  many  buttons,  but 
this  too  proved  an  error,  and  a  very  short  experience 
induced  him  to  lay  aside  the  coat  and  substitute  a 
short-waisted,  single-breasted  jacket,  which  trans- 
formation gave  the  uRebs"  the  universal  title  of 
"Gray  Jackets"  by  the  neighbors  over  the  way — 
the  Yankees. 

We  went  in  heavy  on  fancy  caps,  wavelocks  and 
other  cockady  and  stately  head-gear,  but  these  early 
gave  way  to  the  comfortable  slouch  hat,  and  to  this 
day  the  Confederate  veterans  are  much  mystified 
when  they  read  of  the  French  and  Prussians  wear- 
ing the  little  caps  and  heavy  helmletson  the  march 
and  in  the  field,  but  the  volunteer  of  '61  was  a 
fearfully  and  wonderfully  gotten  up  tepresentative 
of  the  Sons  of  Mars  in  the  first  flush  of  his  war- 
fever.  Hevcarried  more  baggage  then  than  a  major- 
general  did  afterwards,  and  many  of  these  "high 
privates"  were  followed  by  their  own  faithful  body- 
servants,  who  did  their  cooking,  washing  and  for- 
aging, blacked  those  imposing  boots,  dusted  his 
clothes,  and  bragged  to  the  other  negroes  of  what  a 
noble  soldier  and  gentleman  "Massa  Tom"  of 
"Massa  Dick"  was. 

The  knapsack  was  a  terror,  loaded  with   thirty 


10  How  a  One-Legged  Rebel  Lives. 

to  fifty  pounds  of  surplus  baggage,  consisting  of  all 
manner  of  extra  underwear,  towels,  combs,  brushes, 
blacking,  looking-glasses,  needles,  thread,  buttons, 
bandages,  everything  thought  of  as  necessary,  and 
strapped  on  the  outside  were  two  great,  heavy  blank- 
ets and  a  gum  or  oilcloth.  His  haversack,  too,  hung 
on  his  shoulder,  and  always  had  a  good  stock  of 
provisions,  as  though  a  march  across  the  Sahara 
might  at  any  time  be  imminent.  The  inevitable 
canteen,  with  contents  more  or  less,  was  also  slung 
from  the  shoulder,  and  most  of  the  boys  thought  a 
bold  soldier's  outfit  for  the  war  was  absolutely  in- 
complete unless  he  was  supplied  with  long  gloves. 
In  fact,  the  volunteer  of  '61  made  himself  a  com- 
plete beast  of  burden,  and  was  so  heavily  clad, 
weighted  and  cramped  that  a  march  was  absolute 
torture,  and  the  wagon  trains  of  mess-chests  and 
camp  equipage  were  so  immense  in  proportion  to 
the  number  of  men  that  it  would  have  been  impos- 
sible to  guard  them  in  an  enemy's  country,  or  any- 
where else,  against  enterprising  cavalry.  However, 
wisdom  is  born  of  experience,  and  before  many  cam- 
paigns have  been  worried  through  the  private  sol- 
dier, reduced  to  the  minimum,  consisted  of  one 
man,  one  hat,  one  jacket,  one  pair  pants,  one  pair 
draws,  one  pair  socks,  one  pair  shoes,  and  his  bag- 
gage was  one  blanket,  one  gum-cloth  and  one  hav- 
ersack,   while  the    wonderfully-constructed    mess- 


How  a  One- Legged  Rebel  Lives.  11 

chests,  with  lids  convertable  into  cozy  fining  tables, 
and  with  numerous  divisions  and  sub-divisions  in 
nooks  and  cases  for  the  holding  of  all  imaginable 
necessaries  and  luxuries,  of  tea  and  coffee,  spices 
and  condiments,  dishes,  cups,  vases  and  spoons, 
were  stored  nevermore  to  see  the  light  in  the  army 
again,  and  the  company  property  consisted  of  two 
or  three  skillets  and  frying-pans,  which  didn't  take 
up  much  wagon  room — for  the  infantryman  gener- 
ally preferred  to  stick  the  handle  of  the  mess  frying- 
pan  into  the  ban  el  of  a  musket  and  thus  be  sure  of 
having  it  at  a  given  point  on  the  march  when  the 
minimum- weight  soldier  got  there,  for  the  wagon 
got  to  be  very  unreliable  for  the  transportation  of 
anything  but  amunition  ;  but  sometimes  they  car- 
ried a  small  quantity  of  commissary  stores,  gener- 
ally for  the  use  ol  the  train  quartermaster  and  his 
staff. 

The  most  important  appearing  personage  in  the 
army  was  the  aforesaid  quartermaster,  who  always 
managed  to  have  saved  for  his  own  use,  out  of  the 
scanty  supplies,  an  abundance  of  the  best,  and  as 
all  drivers  and  assistants  in  his  department  held 
their  ubomb-proofs"  at  his  supreme  pleasure,  he 
had  it  in  his  power  at  all  times  to  control  freights. 
His  handsome,  flashy,  lace-trimmed  uniform  of  fine 
gray  cloth,  adorned  with  the  star  or  bar  of  his 
rank,  caused  the  folks  along  the  line  of  march  to 


12  How  a  One- Legged  Rebel  Lives. 

imagine  they  had  the  privilege  of  gazing  at  some 
of  the  famous  generals — Longstreet,  Hill,  Pickett, 
or  perhaps  Lee  himself — when  in  fact  the  generals, 
in  their  dingy  dress,  had  passed  unnoticed,  and  this 
gayly  caparisoned  cavalier  was  only  a  quartermaster 
marshaling  a  little  wagon  train  in  rear  of  the  army. 

The  Confederate  soldier  held  on  to  his  haversack, 
not  to  carry  food  in  as  is  popularly  supposed,  but  it  was 
the  ever  present  recepticle  for  tobacco,  pipes,  strings, 
buttons  and  the  like,  and  very  often,  when,  with  great 
display  and  bluster  by  the  commissaries,  three  days' 
rations  were  issued  to  the  men,  they  would  cook 
and  eat  the  whole  lot  at  one  meal,  which  was  de- 
cidedly the  most  convenient  way  of  carrying  it, 
and  besides  it  was  usually  the  case  that  they  had 
been  without  food  for  from  two  to  five  meals,  and 
it  was  not  much  of  an  exploit  to  consume  the  small 
quantity  issued  for  what  was  termed  "three  days' 
rations,"  and  after  eating  it,  they  would  trust  to 
luck  and  stratagy  for  meals,  or  go  hungry,  as  usual, 
till  the  next  ration  day. 

The  commissary  department  of  the  Southern 
Confederacy  was  most  scandalously  mismanaged 
from  the  beginning,  and  the  commissary  general 
was  the  worst  and  most  complete  failure,  North  or 
South,  of  the  whole  war,  in  consequence  of  which 
the  men  were  forced  to  forage  for  themselves.  As 
the  war  progressed  and  this  stern   "mother  of  in- 


How  a  One-Legged  Rebel  Lives.  13 

vention"  and  uneutralizer  of  all  law,"  Necessity 
and  Hunger,  her  child,  made  themselves  felt  in  all 
their  force,  it  was  no  uncommon  sight  to  see  a  whole 
brigade  marching  in  solid  column  along  a  road  one 
minute  and  the  next  scattered  over  a  big  briar  field 
picking  the  blackberries,  but  as  soon  as  the  glean- 
ing was  done  all  would  return  to  the  ranks  and 
resume  the  march  as  though  nothing  had  happened 
to  break  it,  and  in  the  Fall  of  the  year  a  persimmon 
tree  would  halt  a  column  as  long  as  a  'simmon  was 
on  it. 

We  had  no  sutlers  in  our  army  ;  the  blockade  and 
dearth  of  marketable  funds  prevented  that,  the  near- 
est approach  to  it  being  the  occasional  old  darkey 
with  his  cider  cart  or  basket  of  pies  and  cakes — so 
called — and  it  was  almost  marvelous  to  see  how 
quick  the  old  contraband's  stock  would  be  cleaned 
out. 

The  rebel  soldier  depended  much  upon  the  sup- 
plies he  could  get  from  the  enemy  in  battle,  for  the 
Yankees  were  always  abundantly  supplied,  and 
thus  we  had  a  double  incentive  to  win  the  fight. 

A  federal  officer  who  was  conversing  with  General 
Jackson  in  the  street  of  Harper's  Ferry,  at  its  sur- 
render in  September,  1862,  says  that  an  Orderly 
galloped  up  to  '  'Stonewall' '  and  said :  '  'General,  I  am 
ordered  by  General  McLaws  to  report  to  you  that 
McClellan's  whole  army  is  within  six  miles,   and 


14  How  a  One-Legged  Rebel  Lives. 

coming  this  way."  Jackson  took  no  notice  of  it 
at  all,  and  the  Orderly  turned  to  ride  back  when  the 
General  called  to  him,  "has  General  McClellan  a 
drove  of  cattle  or  a  wagon  train  with  him?"  The 
Orderly  ieplied  that  he  had.  "All  right,"  said 
Jackson,  "I  can  whip  any  army  that  is  followed  by 
a  drove  of  cattle  ;"  alluding  to  the  hungry  condition 
of  his  men,  and  the  good  righting  qualities  thereby 
developed  when  beef  was  in  sight. 

Stealing  is  a  low  vice,  no  matter  who  does  it,  but 
that  hungry  men  should  take  whatever  they  found 
in  the  eating  line  is  not  to  be  wondered  at,  and  the 
old  Irish  adage,  '  'There  is  no  law  for  a  hungry  man, ' ' 
should  be  borne  in  mind  when  judging  the  soldier. 

In  the  early  days,  when  the  volunteers  were  be- 
ing mustered  for  "twelve  months,  unless  sooner 
discharged,"  and  the  idea  of  a  short  war  was  being 
industriously  promulgated  by  the  big  men  of  the  cross 
roads,  and  the  newspaper  generals  at  the  county 
seats,  the  boys  were  very  uneasy  about  it,  for  fear 
it    would  wind  up  before  they  could  get  in. 

When  the  first  Manassas  was  fought,  the  52d 
Virginia  was  sorely  disgruntled,  believing  they  had 
been  left  out  fora  purpose,  and  jealously  rankled  hot 
in  our  hearts  at  sight  of  the  battery  boys,  and  others, 
from  Staunton,  who  were  sporting  around  town 
with  bullet-wounds  and  bloody  bandages,  the  idols 
of  the  girls  and  made  heroes  of  by  everybody.      Fate 


How  a  One- Legged  Rebel  Lives.  15 

was  against  us,  tor  we  had  not  even  seen  the  smoke 
of  that  first  great  battle  from  afar,  and  we  would 
have  resigned  a  kingdom  without  a  murmur  to  have 
had  one  of  those  wounds  ;  even  a  very  small  wound 
would  have  been  thankfully  received,  and  we 
noticed  also  that  the  accounts  and  descriptions  of 
the  battle  were  considered  much  more  accurate  and 
authentic  when  related  by  some  fellow  with  his  arm 
in  a  sling  and  a  general  air  about  him  of —  "stand 
aside!  I  am  holier  than  thou,"  "been  wounded  at 
Manassas;"  although  it  might  be  that  he  got  crip- 
pled under  a  waggon,  and  never  saw  a  Yankee. 

But  every  one  of  these  veteran  heroes  of  that  bat- 
tle was  supposed  to  have  slain  at  least  four  Yankees, 
and  fought  Sherman's  battery  with  bowie  knife. 
"Charging"  the  batteries  of  the  enemy  was  the 
favorite  amusement  of  the  lucky  fellows  who  were 
at  Manassas,  and  every  one  of  them  had  "charged," 
more  or  less,  batteries  that  day,  and  the  men  who 
captured  the  "Long  Tom"  rifle-piece  were  wonder- 
fully numerous. 


.  CHAPTER  II. 

I  must  now  return  to  the  camp  at  Crab  Bottom, 
because  our  stay  was  brief,  and  the  rumors  of  the 
operations  of  our  great  Generals  in  the  mountains 
were    numerous.      There    was  always    news,    and 


16  How  a  One-Legged  Rebel  Lives. 

Floyd,  Wise,  Loring,  Lee,  Johnston,  and  other  great 
commanders  of  the  Confederacy,  were  measuring 
lances  with  Milroy,  Roscrans,  McClellan,  Cox, 
Tyler,  Schenck,  etc.,  of  the  Federal  Army,  for  the 
control  of  the  empire  of  Western  Virginia,  and  the 
time  has  come,  in  my  story,  for  the  52d  to  "mix 
in,"  as  Forrest,  the  famous  cavalryman,  would  say. 

We  marched  towards  Moorefield,  but  stopped  at  a 
camp  called  "Straight  Creek,"  in  Highland  county, 
and  were  joined  by  Captain  Shumaker,  with  his 
battery  from  "Camp  Bartow,"  and  here  we  did  have 
a  most  glorious  time  of  it,  in  the  perfect  autumn 
weather  of  the  mountain  glades  and  vales,  and  oh  ! 
such  living  !  The  memory  of  the  buckwheat  and 
honey,  the  cakes,  pies,  roast  beef  and  wild  turkey, 
lingers  lingeringly,  and  I  would  I  were  a  boy  again 
in  camp  with  the  old  52d  ;  but  the  regiment  has 
made  its  last  march  on  this  side  the  shadow  land, 
and  nothing  is  left  but  the  glorious  memory  of  the 
good  time  gone. 

While  here,  an  incident  occurred  which  made 
quite  an  impression  on  my  boyish  mind,  and  I  very 
much  doubt  if  it  has  been  forgotten  by  the  oldest 
survivor.  Our  camp  was  on  the  bank  of  a  creek 
and  just  below  the  point  where  a  mill  dam  was 
located.  It  was  quite  a  large  dam  and  had  been 
sufficient,  up  to  this  time,  to  hold  the  accumulated 
water  in  check,  but  now  it  chose  to  give  way,  and 


How  a  One- Legged  Rebel  Lives.  17 

sweeping  like  a  mighty  flood  through  the  camp  it 
overwhelmed  tents,  barracks,  bunks,  and  all  per- 
taining to  our  little  military,  in  one  universal  ruin. 
We  were  completely  washed  out,  and  the  disaster 
served  in  a  measure,  to  reconcile  us,  to  the  move- 
ment we  were  soon  called  to  make  to  Alleghany 
mountain  ;  and  now  our  soldier  life  began  to  lose 
its  gilding. 

Our  regiment  was  ordered  to  report  to  Gen.  H. 
R.  Jackson,  of  Georgia,  a  veteran  of  the  Mexican 
war,  in  which  he  was  a  Colonel  of  Volunteers,  who 
had  been  left  with  two  brigades,  by  General  Lee, 
to  hold  the  crossing  at  Greenbriar  River  of  the 
turnpike  leading  from  Staunton  to  Parkersburg 
across  Cheat  Mountain,  and  after  passing  through 
the  intervening  valley,  and  then  the  Alleghany 
Mountain  into  our  own  Valley. 

Jackson's  camp  here  was  called  "Camp  Bartow," 
from  one  of  the  heroes  of  Manassas,  the  lamented 
Colonel  of  the  8th  Georgia. 

The  Southern  camp  was  on  the  south  bank  of 
the  river,  here  not  more  than  twenty  yards  wide, 
but  Colonel  Baldwin  had  by  order  of  General  Jack- 
eon,  posted  our  regiment  at  the  Alleghany  Pass,  in 
our  rear.  When  the  Federals  learned  of  the  with- 
drawal of  the  large  body  of  Southern  troops  towards 
the  Kanawha,  they  determined  to  move  the  balance 
of  us,  and  General  Reynolds,   of  brilliant  Gettys- 


18  How  a  One-Legged  Rebel  Lives. 

burg  fame,  organized  a  force  of  6,000  troops,  with 
twelve  pieces  of  artillery,  and  moving  from  their 
camp,  on  the.  summit  of  Cheat  Mountain,  on  the 
2d  of  October,  came  down  on  Camp  Bartow  with 
great  gallantry  ;  but  Jackson's  two  little  brigades, 
commanded  by  Colonels  Johnson  and  Taliferro, 
stood  their  ground  so  stubbonly  that,  after  exhaust- 
ing all  their  means  to  drive  them  from  the  field,  in 
a  battle  commencing  early  on  Thursday  morning 
October  3,  and  continuing  till  half-past  two  o'clock 
p.  m.,  the  Federals  retreated  in  confusion,  losing 
over  300  men  killed  and  wounded,  while  Jackson's 
loss  was  6  killed,  31  wounded  and  12  missing. 

General  Reynolds  had  intended  to  clear  the  turn- 
pike, and  march  to  Staunton,  but  not  succeeding  in 
getting  "Camp  Bartow,"  he  failed  to  approach  our 
post  at  Alleghany  Pass  and,  to  our  chagrin,  we  had 
lost  another  opportunity  to  fight  the  Yankees,  so 
we  grumbled  savagely — fully  satisfied  now  that  the 
war  would  end  and  we  would  not  have  any  show  at 
all  to  distinguish  ourselves.  However,  we  "roughed 
it,"  soldier-fashion,  and  grew  very  familiar  with 
the  mountains  ;  in  fact,  we  might  have  been  mis- 
taken, from  our  language,  for  a  corps  of  topograph- 
ical engineers,  so  extensively  did  we  talk  of  what 
was  being  done  in  our  department.  Go  where  you 
would  about  the  camp,  such  geographical  remarks 
as  "General  Lee  is  moving  on  the  Yanks  at  Elk- 


How  a  One- Legged  Rebel  Lives.  19 

water,"  * 'General  Floyd  is  going  to  cut  them  off 
at  Meadow  Bluffs,"  u01d  Governor  Wise  will  knock 
'em  out  at  Sewell  Mountain,"  "Rosecrans  whip- 
ped at  Lewisburg ;"  "we  will  flank  them  by  way 
of  Carnifax  Ferry  ;"  and  we  used  to  bet  largely  on 
what  uNed"  Johnson  would  do  when  Taliaferro's 
brigade  joined  him.  We  had  an  idea  that  a  regi- 
ment of  Southern  troops  was  something  fearful  to 
run  against,  and  as  for  a  brigade — well,  it  was  sim- 
ply irresistible — in  fact  every  man  was  a  general, 
and  knew  exactly  what  to  do  next,  no  matter  what 
had  been  the  result  of  the  last  movement.  But  dis- 
couraging days  were  at  hand,  and  when  winter 
came  upon  us  great  numbers  of  the  men  got  sick, 
and  the  mountain  fogs  and  frosts  were  harder  to 
contend  with  than  the  enemy. 

When  General  Floyd  made  his  march  from  the 
Gauley  River  to  Fayette  Court-house,  he  had  to 
transport  more  than  800  sick  men,  and  although  he 
was  for  twenty  days  engaged  in  skirmishing  and 
fighting  the  Yankees  for  the  right  of  way,  his  killed 
and  wounded  only  amounted  to  14.  After  the  fight 
at  Greenbrier  River,  General  H.  R.  Jackson  was 
sent  on  duty  to  Georgia  ;  Taliaferro's  brigade  was 
withdrawn  towards  Staunton  ;  Camp  Bartow  was 
only  occupied  by  scouts  and  pickets,  and  our  line 
of  defence  was  drawn  back  to  Alleghany  Mountain, 
fourteen  miles  from  Greenbriar  River  and  the  same 


20  How  a  One-Legged  Rebel  Lives. 

distance  from  Montery,  with  Colonel  Edward  John- 
son in  command,  with  about  1,200  men,  consisting 
of  the  1 2th  Georgia,  31st  Virginia,  the  52d  Vir- 
ginia, under  Colonel  Baldwin,  the  Irattallions  of 
Hansborough  and  Riger,  and  two  batteries  of  four 
6-pounders  under  Captains  Anderson  and  Miller, 
also  one  company  of  cavalry  under  Captain  Flour- 
noy,  and  here,  with  a  scanty  supply  of  blankets 
and  rations,  in  the  keen,  frosty  air  of  the  mount- 
ains we  actually  suffered. 

About  this  time  a  name,  afterwards  well  known 
in  the  Valley  was  much  talked  of,  and  on  the  13th 
of  December  it  owner,  Gen.  R.  H.  Milroy,  appeared 
in  our  front,  with  a  force  which,  his  own  people 
said,  amounted  to  8,000. 

His  first  move  on  our  line  was  made  at  Slavin's 
Crossing,  about  three  miles  from  Camp  Bartow,  on 
the  1 8th,  where  Major  Ross,  with  the  volunteers  of 
the  brigade,  with  100  men,  met  the  advance  of  the 
enemy  and  checked  their  movement  long  enough 
for  Colonel  Johnson  to  get  ready  for  them;  and  the 
next  morning  the  great  General  Milroy's  army  came 
up  hunting  a  fight,  and  I  am  of  the  opinion  to  this 
day  that  nobody  had  to  waste  time  hunting  a  fight 
around  old  Ed  Johnson  without  getting  as  much  as 
was  good  for  them  before  night. 

The  Virginians  and  Georgians  had  a  hot  break- 
fast all  ready  for  Milroy's  folks  as  soon  as  they  got 


How  a  One-Legged  Rebel  Lives.  21 

there,  and  the  31st  Virginia,  especially,  was  very 
hospitable  in  their  reception.  This  regiment  was 
mostly  composed  of  Northwest  Virginia  men,  and 
Milroy  stood  between  them  and  home,  which  ap- 
peared to  make  them  particularly  severe  on  him, 
and  their  gallant  commander,  Major  Boykin,  led 
them  with  dauntless  spirit.  I  had  a  splendid  posi- 
tion in  this  battle  and  could  see  the  whole  fight 
without  having  to  take  any  part  in  it,  and  I  remem- 
ber how  I  thought  Colonel  Johnson  must  be  the 
most  wonderful  hero  in  the  world,  as  I  saw  him  at 
one  point,  where  his  men  were  hard  pressed,  snatch 
a  musket  in  one  hand  and,  swinging  a  big  club  in 
the  other,  he  led  his  line  right  up  among  the 
enemy,  driving  them  headlong  down  the  mountain, 
killing  and  wounding  many  with  the  bayonet  and 
capturing  a  large  number  of  prisoners;  but  the 
"boys  in  blue'1  fought  stubbornly,  and  many  of 
our  men  were  killed  here  on  the  left  of  the  road. 
On  the  right,  the  enemy,  in  strong  force,  posted  in 
a  mountain  clearing,  among  the  fallen  timber, 
stumps  and  brush,  was  too  much  for  the  Rebs,  until 
the  veteran,  Captain  Anderson,  brought  his  battery 
into  position  and  thundered  a  storm  of  round  shot 
and  canister  among  them,  knocking  their  timber 
defences  about  their  heads,  and  making  their  nest 
too  hot  to  hold  them;  and  they,  too,  retreated  to 
Cheat  Mountain,  but  for  quite  awhile  they  were 


22  How  a  One- Legged  Rebel  Lives. 

pelted  by  Anderson's  guns  and  by  Miller's  battery, 
which  got  in  in  the  nick  of  time. 

Captain  Anderson  was  killed  just  as  the  Yankees 
were  breaking  up  into  the  retreat  by  a  party  he 
mistook  for  seme  of  our  own  infantry  lying  between 
his  guns  and  the  enemy,  and  riding  forward  he 
called  them  to  come  back  into  the  line,  at  the  same 
time  beckoning  to  them  with  his  head,  when  they 
fired  a  full  volley  at  him,  which  killed  him  in- 
stantly. He  had  been  through  three  wars,  and  had 
taken  part  in  fifty-eight  pitched  battles. 

Lieutenant  Raines,  of  Lynchburg,  took  com- 
mand of  Anderson's  battery,  and  the  other  battery, 
under  Captain  Miller,  had  b^en  originally  mustered 
into  the  52d,  but  was  taken  out  and  organized  as 
artillery  during  the  preceding  summer. 

My  recollections  of  Col.  Kdward^Johnson,  as  he 
appeared  that  day-.is  very  distinct j  partly,  perhaps, 
because  it  was  the  first  real  battle  I  had  ever  wit- 
nessed, but  mainly,  I  think,  because  he  acted  so 
differently  from  all  my  preconceived  ideas  of  how  a 
commander  should  act  on  the  field  of  battle.  He 
was  a  native  of  Chesterfield  county,  Virginia,  but 
at  the  opening  of  the  war  was  livingein {jjreorgia,  and 
came  from  there  at  the  first  outbreak  of  hostile 
preparations  in  commandiof^t^r^lfP^edr^ia  regi- 
ment. After  this  battle  he  'was- frtade-  brigadier, 
and   in  February,   1.863,    was  promoted   to  major- 


How  a  One-Legged  Rebel  Lives,  23 

general,  and  commanded  a  division  in  Ewell's 
corps,  composed  of  the  brigades  of  Walker,  Stewart, 
J.  M.  Jones  and  Nicholls. 

He  was  noted  all  through  the  war  as  a  stubborn 
fighter,  and  was  known  throughout  the  country 
after  this  victory  as  "Alleghany"  Johnson. 

In  the  battle  of  Alleghany  Mountain  the  Fed- 
erals admitted  a  loss  of  four  hundred  killed  and 
wounded,  while  ours,  by  actual  returns,  was  twenty- 
five  killed  and  ninety-seven  wounded — not  more 
than  skirmishing  afterwards,  but  we  rated  it  as  a 
big  battle  then. 

The  next  day  I  was  on  detail  with  the  burial 
party,  and  while  putting  away  two  dead  Yankees 
who  had  been  in  the  party  that  killed  Captain  An- 
derson, we  found  in  their  pockets  the  first  green- 
backs I  had  ever  seen.  We  considered  the  bills 
curiosities  in  the  way  of  currency  and  only  valued 
them  as  such,  not  believing  that  such  money  would 
be  of  any  more  value  than  the  continental  currency 
was  after  the  Revolution,  for  of  course  the  North 
was  to  be  defeated  and  impoverished  by  the  war, 
and  not  able  to  redeem  her  promise  to  pay.  In 
fact,  at  that  time,  we  would  not  have  given  ten 
cents  on  the  dollar  for  it  in  Confederate  money, 
which  goes  to  sustain  the  statement  elsewhere  made 
that  I,  as  a  type  of  the  volunteer  of  1861,  had  a 
considerable  touch  of  fool  in  my  composition,  be- 


24  How  a   One-Legged  Rebel  Lives. 

cause  any  person  of  common  sense  must  have  known 
that  the  war  money  of  an  already  established  gov- 
ernment must,  of  necessity,  have  a  better  show  for 
value  than  that  of  an  experiment,  no  matter  who 
might  be  the  final  winner  in  the  contest,  but  the 
faith  that  was  in  us  was  strong  indeed. 

After  the  battle  of  Alleghany  Mountain  some 
half  dozen  of  our  company  died;  in  fact,  nearly  all 
the  wounded  died  from  cold  and  exposure  to  the 
inclement  winter  weather,  and  we  all  suffered 
severely.  We  soon  moved  our  camp  to  Shenan- 
doah Mountain,  where  General  Johnson  left  us  for 
awhile  to  attend  to  important  business  in  Rich- 
mond, and  Colonel  Baldwin  commanded  the  depart- 
ment, and  we  remained  here  until  the  general 
movement  of  armies  took  place  in  March,  1862. 
We  made  our  winter  quarters  as  comfortable  as  we 
knew  how,  but  we  were  green  campaigners,  and 
the  best  we  knew  was  awkward  enough.  We  had 
got  some  tents,  and  these,  with  log  huts  and  plenty 
of  fire,  kept  us  in  some  sort  of  comfort,  but  during 
this  bleak  winter  the  boys  talked  a  good  deal  about 
their  "twelve  months'  "  term  of  enlistment  expir- 
ing in  the  spring,  and  not  quite  so  much  of  their 
fear  that  the  war  would  be  too  short  to  give  to  them 
a  taste.  Our  next  movement  was  to  the  old  camp 
at  West  View,  six  miles  from  Staunton,  and  in 
preparing  for  this   we  burned  up  completely  our 


How  a   One- Legged  Rebel  Lives.  25 

camp  at  Shenandoah  Mountain,  tents  and  all, 
which  puzzled  exceedingly  the  generals  of  the  rank 
and  file,  and  it  has  always  remained  a  mystery  to 
me  why  we  did  it,  for  there  was  no  enemy  in 
threatening  distance  so  far  as  we  knew. 

While  waiting  for  developments,  "us  generals" 
were  passing-  through  an  ordeal  ol  electioneering, 
because  the  term  of  service  for  nearly  the  whole 
armv  had  expired  and  the  time  for  reorganization 
of  companies  and  regiments  had  arrived,  and  en- 
listments "for  the  period  of  the  war." 

To  offer  a  man  promotion  in  the  early  period  of 
the  war  was  almost  an  insult,  and  the  higher  the 
social  position,  the  greater  the  wealth,  the  more 
patriotic  it  would  be  to  serve  in  the  humble  posi- 
tion of  private  in  the  ranks;  and  I  have  seen  many 
men  of  education  and  ability  refusing  promotion, 
and  carrying  their  muskets  under  command  of 
officers  greatly  their  inferiors,  mentally  and  morally, 
as  soldiers.  It  was  not  uncommon  to  see  ex-con- 
gressmen and  judges,  as  well  as  preachers,  -tramp- 
ing along  in  ranks  as  privates,  but  one  year  of 
soldiering  had  engendered  a  desire  for  commissions 
in  the  hearts  of  many,  and,  in  some  cases,  much 
trickery  was  resorted  to  by  aspirants  to  secure  the 
soldier  vote  for  company  offices.  Our  regiment,  at 
reorganization,  had  been  changed  somewhat,  Col- 
onel Baldwin  having  been  retired  to  a  seat  in  the 
Confederate  States  Congress. 


26  How  a  One-Legged  Rebel  Lives.  * 

Col.  M.  G.  Harman  commanded,  with  Lieut.  - 
Col.  J.  H.  Skinner  and  Major  Ross  as  field  officers, 
and  Lieutenant  Lewis,  from  the  Institute  (V.  M.  L), 
was  Adjutant;  Company  A  was>  commanded  by 
Captain  Garber;  Company  B  by  Captain  Long; 
Company  C  by  Captain  Dabney;  Company  D  by 
Captain  Airhait;  Company  B  by  Captain  Watkins; 
Company  F  by  Captain  Cline;  Company  G  by  Cap- 
tain Bateman;  Company  H  by  Captain  Lilly;  Com- 
pany I  by  Captain  Humphreys,  and  Company  K  by 
Captain  Walton. 

I  could  not  give  the  roll  of  each  company  in  the 
52d  if  I  would,  but  I  would  if  I  could,  for  I  think 
it  ought  to  be  preserved,  and  I  hope  the  names  of 
the  gallant  boys  will  yet  be  saved. 


CHAPTER  III. 

Every  story  should  have  its  hero,  and  as  I  have 
no  idea  myself  of  posing  as  such,  I  can't  think  it  at 
all  improper  to  make,  for  my  central  figure  in  this 
part  of  my  little  book  which  treats  of  the  war,  the 
immortal  "Stonewall"  Jackson,  whose  fortunes  as 
a  commander  I  am  proud  to  have  followed  from  the 
day  of  McDowell  to  that  of  his  death.  We  had  not 
heard  much  of  him,  apart  from  the  record  he  made 
at  Manassas,    until   reports  of  his  crazy  battle  at 


How  a  One-Legged  Rebel  Lives.  27 


Kernstown,  as  it  was  called,  were  received;  and 
although  it  was  the  custom  in  that  war  for  both 
sides  to  magnify  their  victories  and  depreciate  their 
defeats,  we  were  pretty  strongly  impressed  with  the 
belief  that  Jackson  had  been  pretty  badly  worsted 
at  Kernstown,  by  that  fighting  Irishman,  General 
Shields,  whom  we  rated  always  as  a  gentleman  and 
a  soldier;  and  when  we  learned  that  Jackson  was 
retreating  up  the  Valley  before  Banks,  our  faith 
was  visibly  weakened,  for  we  knew  Milroy  was 
pushing  towards  our  own  position  with  a  much 
larger  force  than  we  could  muster. 

Our  accounts  from  Jackson  were  not  all  painted 
in  black,  for  we  learned  that  he  had  matched  his 
four  thousand  "foot  cavalry"  against  Shields'  ten 
thousand,  and  had  fought  so  fierce  and  fast  that  the 
high-blooded  Irishman  thought  Jackson  had  two 
thousand  the  most  men,  and  we  trusted  largely  in 
his  skill;  and  were  not  totally  dissatisfied  when  he 
turned  up  at  West  View,  as  though  to  cut  out  some 
work  for  "Alleghany"  Johnson's  men,  which,  of 
course,  we  thought  unnecessary,  all  of  us  being 
generals,  and  able  to  lay  our  plans  without  his 
supervision,  but  he  seems  to  have  been  arranging 
matters  to  suit  General  Banks,  who,  about  this 
time,  telegraphed  McClellan  that  he  uhad  forced 
the  Rebel,  Jackson,  to  permanently  abandon  the 
Valley  and  retreat  on  Gordonsville  in  Eastern  Vir- 
ginia." 


28  How  a  One- Legged  Rebel  Lives. 

This  is  a  verbatim  report  of  Banks'  message,  and 
shows  that  he  knew  very  little  about  Mr.  Jackson, 
and  it  also  shows  that  Jackson  had  succeeded — so 
far  as  the  Federal  geneials  knew — in  getting  com- 
pletely lost,  a  thing  he  took  a  great  deal  of  interest 
in  doing  repeatedly,  during  the  progress  of  the  war; 
but  General  Milroy,  marching  from  the  west 
towards  Staunton  for  the  express  purpose  of  crush- 
ing Johnson,  found  Jackson  at  McDowell,  in  High- 
land county,  with  his  chaplain,  Dr.  Dabney,  holding 
worship  in  his  camp. 

On  May  7,  1862,  General  Johnson,  with  his  six 
regiments,  was  ready  for  the  fray,  and  Jackson's 
Valley  division,  formed  of  the  brigades  of  Talia- 
ferro, Winder  and  Campbell,  with  the  Lexington 
Cadets  under  Gen.  F.  H.  Smith,  of  the  Institute, 
were  on  hand  to  back  us  up  with  aid  and  comfort. 

General  Johnson,  who  knew  the  country  almost 
as  well  as  if  he  had  made  it,  led  the  advance  and 
drove  four  regiments  of  the  enemy  from  Shenan- 
doah Mountain,  capturing  their  camps,  with  tents, 
clothes,  arms  and  commissary  stores,  and  placed 
his  men  in  bivouac  on  the  camp  ground  of  the 
enemy.  He  had  already  formed  his  forces  into  two 
brigades,  commanded  by  Colonels  Scott  and  Con- 
nor, our  boys  being  under  Colonel  Scott,  who  had 
the  44th,  52d  and  58th  Virginia. 

The  52d  took  position  on  Sutlington  Hill.    When 


How  a  One- Legged  Rebel  Lives.  29 

the  enemy  advanced  to  the  attack  we  received  the  full 
assault  of  their  first  line  and  repulsed  it,  thus  giving 
time  for  the  arrival  of  the  other  regiments.  The 
enemy,  after  being  driven  back,  opened  on  us  with 
their  artillery  a  rapid  and  incessant  fire  of  case  shot 
and  shell,  but  "us  boys"  laid  low  among  the  rocks 
and  trees,  which  afforded  us  ample  protection,  and 
also  the  angle  of  elevation  of  their  guns  being  so 
great,  no  damage,  except  to  the  timber,  resulted 
from  this  cannonade,  and  the  noise  was  all  on  the 
Yankees'  side,  we  having  no  artillery  in  position. 

About  5  o'clock  General  Milroy,  having  been 
joined  by  General  Schenck,  advanced  his  whole 
force  of  8,000  men,  and  the  battle  roared  and  raged 
along  the  side  of  the  hill  with  terrific  force  for  a 
lon£  time,  but  our  two  little  brigades  held  them 
back  until  Jackson  got  his  flank  movement  worked 
out,  and  then  the  Federals  gave  way,  as  a  matter 
of  course.  In  the  final  closing  up  of  the  business, 
just  as  Taliaferro's  brigade  reached  the  field,  the 
52d,  backed  up  by  the  10th  Virginia,  made  a  charge 
which  drove  them  headlong  down  the  hill,  and  the 
battle  ended  at  8  o'clock  p.  m.  It  seemed  to  me 
we  had  been  at  it  about  a  week,  but  the  other  boys 
spoke  as  though  it  was  a  very  short  half  a  day. 

The  fight  had  been  hotly  contested,  but  Milroy 
made  it  perfectly  clear  to  all  on  both  sides  that  he 
was  no  match  for  Jackscn  'in  handling  troops  in 
battle,  notwithstanding  his  superiorityfin  numbers. 


30  How  a  One-Legged  Rebel  Lives. 

Our  loss  was  71  killed  and  390  wounded,  but  we 
could  not  learn  that  of  the  enemy,  as  they  still  held 
their  main  camp  and  carried  away  their  dead  and 
wounded  during  the  battle,  with  their  well  served 
ambulance  corps,  but  we  found  103  dead  on  the 
mountain  side  next  morning;  and  during  the  night 
Milroy  set  the  woods  on  fire  behind  him,  and 
retreated  towards  Franklin,  whither  General  Jack- 
son followed  the  next  day. 

On  the  14th  of  May,  about  three  miles  from  the 
town,  he  drew  up  his  little  army  in  a  small  valley 
and  spoke  a  few  words  of  commendation  of  their 
gallantry  at  McDowell,  in  his  short,  curt  tone,  and 
appointed  10  o'clock  that  day  as  an  occasion  of 
prayer  and  thanksgiving  for  the  victory — which 
was  duly  observed — notwithstanding  the  firing  of 
Milroy's  cannon-balls  over  our  heads,  but  many  of 
us,  during  the  exercises,  prayed  with  real  devotion, 
by  the  book,  "from  battle,  murder,  and  sudden 
death,  good  Lord  deliver  us." 

General  Jackson  stood  motionless,  with  benty 
bare  head,  and  as  soon  as  the  meeting  was  over, 
marched  his  army  back  to  McDowell,  and  the  next 
day  crossed  the  Shenandoah  Mountain,  halting  at 
Lebanon  Springs,  where  he  gave  his  men  some 
much  needed  rest,  and  an  opportunity  to  observe 
the  day  appointed  by  the  President  for  fasting  and 
prayer. 


How  a  One-Legged  Rebel  Lives.  31 

But  I  must  repeat  that  I  am  not  attempting  a 
history  of  the  war,  only  trying  to  follow  in  a  weak, 
one-legged,  halting  manner,  the  boys  of  the  52c!,  in 
doing  which  I  must  call  to  mind  the  pleasant 
bivouac  in  the  lovely  Mossy  Creek  valley,  with 
headquarters  at  Major  M.  G.  McCue's  house,  and 
where  all  the  people  were  so  hospitable  and  kind  to 
the  jaded  Rebels,  and  from  whence  we  moved  to 
Mt.  Zion  Church,  near  Mt.  Solon,  and  I  had  the 
pleasure  of  a  day  at  my  uncle's,  Dr.  Geo.  T.  Rob- 
son,  which  place  I  had  left  one  year  before,  a  gay 
young  volunteer,  marching  to  the  war  and  very 
much  afraid  I  was  too  late  to  get  any  fighting;  but 
I  confess  I  was  not  now  so  very  much  afraid  of 
missing  a  battle  as  I  had  been,  and  I  think  that 
year  had  taken  some  of  the  conceit  out  of  me. 

However,  we  could  not  tarry  long  in  our  pleasant 
quarters,  for  "Stonewall"  was  restless,  and  the 
Federal  generals — Banks,  Fremont,  Shields,  Mc- 
Dowell and  Milroy — were  either  in,  or  threatening 
his  beloved  Valley  of  Virginia,  to  surrender  which, 
he  declared/ was  to  give  up  Virginia;  and  in  this 
compaign  we  soon  found  that  events  were  hurrying 
fast,  and  we  must  do  likewise  or  get  left;  which 
recalls  to  mind  a  true  story  of  Col.  William  Smith, 
of  the  49th  Virginia,  universally  known  as  "Extra 
Billy." 

On  one  occasion  he  was  endeavoring  to  get  his 


32  How  a  One-Legged  Rebel  Lives. 

men  in  inarching  order  as  quick  as  possible,  but 
they  were  very  dilatory  about  it,  and  paid  so  little 
attention  to  his  oft-repeated   command   to  "fall  in 
here,  men,  fall  in,  I  say  !"  as  to  excite  the  Colonel's 
ire,  whereupon  he  testily  exclaimed,    "If  you  don't 
fall   in   here  right  away  now,  I'll  inarch  the  regi- 
ment off  and  leave  every  d — d  one  of  you  behind  !" 
Our  "Stonewall"  was  no  such  Irishman  as  that, 
for  when  he  marched  his  army   off  he  was  pretty 
sure  to  take  it  all  along,  and  at  this  time,  with  all 
the  odds  the  fortune  of  war  had  arrayed  against 
him,  he  surely  needed  every  man.      It  is,  perhaps, 
not  out  of  place  here  to  attempt  a  description  of  the 
impression    "Stonewall"  Jackson   made   upon   me 
and  my  comrades  who  had   never  seen  him,  until 
he  got  lost  from  Mr.  Banks  and  turned  up  at  Valley 
Mills  near  McDowell.      I  shall  not  attempt  any  de- 
scription of  his  person  or  appearance,  for  that  has 
been  done  so  often  that  everybody  who  reads  South- 
ern history  at  all  know  all  about  it,  but  on  first 
view  I  thought  it  hardly  possible  that  he  could  be 
much  ol  a  general,  and  if  the  vernacular  of  to-day 
had  been  in   vogue  then,   I   think   I  should  have 
reported  that  I  had  seen  a  "crank,"  and  I  believe 
most  of  the  men  of  the  52d  would  have  pronounced 
the  opinion  correct;  but  my  reader  must  remember 
that  most  of  us  were  still  generals  ourselves  to  some 
extent,  though  we  did  not  consider  our  generalship 
quite  so  infallible  as  we  formerly  thought,  and  the 


How  a  One-Legged  Rebel  Lives.  3S 

killing  and  wounding  of  our  comrades  at  Alleghany 
and  McDowell  had  opened  our  eyes  wonderfully  to 
the  probabilities  of  what  might  eventually  grow 
out  of  this  wTar  if  something  or  somebody  didn't 
stop  it.  Col.  M.  G.  Harman  (Colonel  of  5 2d  Vir- 
ginia) was  wounded  severely  in  the  arm,  and  many 
others  of  Company  D  (the  Company  to  which  I 
belonged).  But  memory  fails  me  now,  and  I  can- 
not record,  as  my  heart  prompts  me  to  do,  the 
names  of  the  gallant  boys  who  fought  and  fell  for 
the  cause  they  loved  so  well  and  thought  was  right. 
When  the  thought  of  our  noble  dead  rolls  over 
my  heart,  I  love  to  read  the  lines  of  Father  Ryan, 
and  get  comfort  from  the  sentiments  so  beautifully 
expressed  by  our  charming  soldier-poet: 

'Tis  o'er,  the  fearful  struggle  o'er, 

The  bloody  contest  past, 
And  hearts  oppressed  with  anxious  care 

Throb  peacefully  at  last. 
Those  who  were  spared  are  with  us  now, 

Some  are  in  heaven,  we  trust; 
But  though  the  victory  is  not  ours, 

They're  glorious  in  the  dust. 

How  many  fell  whose  names  and  deeds 

Are  unrecorded  here, 
Save  in  some  lonely,  widowed  heart, 

Or  by  the  orphan's  tear  ! 
Yet  these  were  they  who  swelled  the  ranks 

Of  our  brave  Southern  host, 
And  though  no  stone  now  marks  their  graves, 

They're  glorious  in  the  dust. 


34  How  a  One-Legged  Rebel  Lives. 

Long  shall  we  mourn  for  those  whose  lives 

Were  offered  up  in  vain; 
We  miss  them  in  our  vacant  homes, 

Nor  can  from  tears  refrain. 
Forever  cherished  in  our  hearts, 

Their  names  nor  deeds  can  rust, 
And  tho'  they  sleep  beneath  the  sod, 

They're  glorious  in  the  dust. 

And  there  are  names  we  may  not  speak, 

But  yet  to  all  how  dear, 
For  them  our  daily  prayers  ascend, 

May  God,  in  mercy,  hear. 
How  have  they  suffered,  maimed  for  life  ! 

Their  highest  hopes,  how  crushed  ! 
But  with  a  manly  spirit  borne, 

They're  glorious  in  the  dust. 

Bravely  we  fought  and  bravely  fell, 

Nor  gained  the  victor  crown, 
Still  we  will  prove  that  Southern  hearts 

Can  suffer  and  be  strong — 
Strong  in  affection,  honor,  truth, 

Strong  in  the  Christian's  trust; 
Tis  trial  brightens  faith  and  hope, 

We're  glorious  in  the  dust. 

If  in  my  power,  the  names  of  those  who  fought 
and  fell  for  the  "IyOst  Cause,"  should  be  graven  in 
golden  letters  on  a  granite  monument,  to  endure  as 
time;  as  a  tribute  to  pure  patriotism  and  unselfish 
devotion  to  home  and  native  land,  in  withstanding 
for  all  those  bloody  years  the  assaults  of  myriads  of 
all  nations  and  tongues,  marshalled  for  the  desola- 
tion of  our  loved  Southern  land  and  the  subjugation 
of  our  people. 


How  a  One-Legged  Rebel  Lives.  35 

The  principles  for  which  the  Confederate  soldier 
fought  and  died,  are  to-day  the  harmony  of  this 
country,  and  so  long  as  those  principles  were  held 
in  obeyance  the  country  was  in  turmoil  and  almost 
ruin. 

The  heart  is  greater  than  the  mind,  and  it  is  not 
fair  to  demand  reasons  for  actions  which  are  above 
reason,  and  the  people  of  the  South,  refusing  to 
receive  the  dogmas  of  fanaticism  as  gospel,  and  to 
submit  to  the  tyranny  of  fanatics,  they  became 
Rebels.  Being  such  they  must  be  punished,  and 
for  resistance  they  died;  but  their  soldier  boys  died 
with  their  "boots  on,"  and  smoking  guns  in  their 
hands.  And  they  fought  all  the  odds  of  over- 
whelming numbers,  thoroughly  armed  and  equipped 
with  all  the  latest  inventions  of  warfare;  fought  all 
the  host  of  ills  which  came  from  blockaded  ports, 
empty  treasury  vaults,  the  wails  of  distress  from 
home,  cold,  hunger,  nakedness;  fought,  without 
pay,  the  legions  of  the  Northern  army,  who  had 
regular  monthly  pay,  in  good  money,  with  big 
bounties,  plenty  to  eat,  and  abundance  of  clothing, 
blankets  and  tents,  and  superb  hospital  outfits,  with 
all  that  sanitary  commission  could  suggest  for  the 
comfort  of  sick  and  wounded;  while  the  Confed- 
erate soldier  could  get  no  medicine  when  sick;  nor, 
often,  when  amputation  was  necessary,  even  chloro- 
form to  numb  the  agony  caused  by  the  knife  and 


36  How  a  One-Legged  Rebel  Lives. 

saw  of  the  surgeon.  The  Confederate  soldier  fought 
against  the  commerce  of  the  United  States,  and  all 
the  facilities  for  war  which  Europe  could  supply, 
and  laid  down  life  for  life  with  hireling  hosts  of 
Germans,  Irish,  Italians,  English,  French,  Chinese, 
Japanese,  white,  black  and  blown. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

I  had  almost  forgotten  that  we  are  on  the  march 
with  "Stonewall"  Jackson  down  the  Valley,  and 
we  want  to  keep  up,  for  although  the  complicated 
movements  of  McClellan  on  the  Peninsula,  Mc- 
Dowell in  front  of  Washington,  Banks  in  the 
Valley,  Shields  along  the  Blue  Ridge,  and  Fremont 
and  Milroy  in  the  mountains  of  Western  Virginia, 
were  enough  to  puzzle  the  brain  of  the  most  thor- 
ough master  of  the  art  of  war  in  any  age,  they  do 
not  appear  to  have  disquieted  or  embarrassed  Jack- 
son in  the  least.  He  looked  right  through  the 
cloud  of  mystery  to  the  plain  object  to  be  attained, 
viz:  the  diversion  of  re-enforcements  from  McClel- 
lan's  "grand  army,"  and  he  went  at  the  accom- 
plishment of  this  purpose  with  the  mathematical 
accuracy  and  resistless  force  of  a  Corliss  engine  in 
motion.  Past  Harrisonburg  we  tramped  rapidly, 
and  by  the  20th  had  reached  New  Market,  on  the 


How  a  One-Legged  Rebel  Lives.  37 

Valley  pike,  where  the  road  to  Luray  across  the 
Massanutton — the  glory  of  the  Valley — leads  into 
the  Page  valley,  and  here,  for  the  first  time,  we 
up-country  boys  saw  General  Ashby,  whose  fame 
as  a  cavalry  leader  had  reached  us  so  brilliantly, 
and  thenceforward  the  troopers  of  Ashby  hung  as 
an  impenetrable  veil  in  front  and  flank,  so  perfectly 
screening  our  movements  that  General  Banks  never 
knew  where  to  look  for  his  tormentor — Jackson — 
and  it  is  doubtful  if  he  yet  knew  whether  or  not 
this  "Rebel"  was  still  at  Gordonsville,  in  Eastern 
Virginia. 

We  took  the  right-hand  road  at  New  Market, 
and  at  night  united  with  General  Bwell's  division, 
which  had  come  down  the  river  from  Swift  Run 
Gap. 

On  the  afternoon  of  the  next  day — 23d  May, 
1862,  when  we  had  passed  Luray  a  long  distance — 
a  funny  incident  occurred,  which,  perhaps,  General 
Jackson  may  have  been  expecting.  The  column 
was  marching  along  at  a  swinging  gait — getting 
over  ground  pretty  lively — when  a  young  and 
rather  good-looking  woman  rushed  out  of  the 
woods,  so  agitated  and  out  of  breath  that  she  could 
scarcely  speak,  but  coming  up  to  the  General,  who 
had  turned  to  meet  her,  she  soon  began  to  talk 
with  great  volubility.  We,  of  course,  could  not 
hear  what  she  was  saying,  nor  could  we  even  con- 


38  How  a  One- Legged  Rebel  Lives. 

jecture  the  import  of  her  mission,  but  it  was  subse- 
quently made  known  that  this  was  the  famous  wo- 
man spy  and  scout,  Belle  Boyd,  and  the  informa- 
tion she  detailed  right  there  to  General  Jackson 
with  the  precision  of  a  staff  officer,  was  to  the  ef- 
fect that  Front  Royal  was  just  beyond  the  woods,  a 
short  distance  ahead  ;  that  the  town  was  full  of  Fed- 
eral troops  ;  that  their  camp  was  on  the  west  side  of 
the  river,  where  they  had  cannon  in  position  to  cover 
the  wagon  bridge,  but  none  to  protect  the  railroad 
bridge  below ;  that  the  Yankees  believed  Jackson's 
army  was  west  of  the  Massanutton  near  Harrisonburg, 
and  knew  nothing  of  the  movement  of  Ewell's  di- 
vision ;  that  Banks  had  moved  his  headquarters  to 
Winchester,  twenty  miles  northwest  of  Front  Royal, 
and  was  looking  for  the  Rebels  to  advance  by  the 
Valley  pike,  and  when  they  did  he  intended  to 
strike  their  flank  and  rear  with  his  Front  Royal 
detachment,  all  of  which  was  absolutely  trne,  but 
it  was  known  to  General  Jackson  the  night  we  left 
New  Market  and  only  needed  Belle  Boyd  to  con- 
firm it;  and  when  the  "foot  cavalry"  got  knowl- 
edge of  this  matter,  as  they  did  in  a  few  days,  their 
opinion  of  their  leader  changed,  and  blind,  awk- 
ward and  queer  as  he  seemed  they  knew  he  was 
anything  but  a  crank. 

The  movement  to  Front  Royal  was  nearly  to  a 
focus  now,    and  Gen.    "Dick"   Taylor  started   his 


How  a  One- Legged  Rebel  Lives.  39 

Louisiana  brigade — a  "daisy"  she  was,  too — at  a 
double,  closely  followed  by  the  whole  force,  and 
pretty  soon  we  broke  cover  down  a  steep  by-path  into 
tire  Gooney  Manor  road,  not  half  a  mile  from  town. 
Some  cavalry  was  first  encountered,  but  almost  in- 
stantly brushed  away,  and  our  cavalry,  making  a 
sweep,  captured  and  brought  out  many  prisoners. 

The  Louisianians,  led  by  the  gallant  General, 
went  at  the  railroad  bridge,  and  then  came  Col. 
Bradley  T.  Johnson,  with  his  regiment,  the  ist 
Maryland,  in  a  fair,  square  attack  straight  into  Col- 
onel Kenly's  ist  Maryland,  of  Bank's  army,  when 
"Greek  literally  met  Greek,"  and  the  tug  of  war 
was  desperate.  Generals  Jackson  and  Ewell  gal- 
loped along  the  field,  like  knights  of  the  olden  time, 
cheering  on  their  men;  the  "Tigers,"  of  Major 
Wheat,  and  the  Louisiana  boys  "waded  in"  yelling, 
firing,  fighting  ;  while  the  Virginians  joined  in  the 
chorus,  the  5 2d  well  up  and  doing  her  duty  equal 
to  any  on  the  field,  and  no  man,  woman  or  child, 
all  the  way  from  Luray,  knew  we  were  coming  un- 
til we  had  passed,  except  Belle  Boyd. 

I  wish  I  could  give  a  description  of  the  battle  of 
Front  Royal,  with  all  the  preceding  incidents  and 
operations,  showing  the  inspiration  by  which  Gen- 
eral Jackson  planned  and  brought  through  to  com- 
plete success  his  audacious  movement  right  into  the 
camps  of  the  enemy  which  surrounded  him,  and  I 


40  How  a  One-Legged  Rebel  Lives. 

have  always  believed  it  was  a  piece  of  one  of  the 
sublimest  pictures  of  strategy  ever  performed  in 
war. 

The  enemy  was  pretty  soon  driven  across  the  river, 
and  tried  hard  to  destroy  the  bridge,  but  the  pres- 
sure in  the  rear  was  too  great  to  give  them  time, 
and  moreover  Ashby,  with  part  of  his  cavalry,  had 
crossed  above,  cut  the  railroad  and  telegraph  wires 
to  Strasburg,  and  prevented  any  help  coming  to  the 
enemy  from  that  point,  while  at  Buckton  he  drove 
them  from  the  strong  position  in  the  railroad  cut 
and  captured  a  train  of  cars.  Other  portions  of  the 
cavalry  overtook  the  retreating  Federals  at  Cedar- 
ville,  and  some  companies  of  the  6th  Virginia  cav- 
alry, led  by  Captain  Grimsley,  of  Culpeper,  in 
two  gallant  charges,  broke  them  up  completely,  but 
many  good  men  of  the  cavalry  were  killed — among 
thein  Captain  Baxter,  Company  K,  6th  Virginia, 
and  Captains  Sheets  and  Fletcher  of  the  Ashby  L,e- 
gion. 

There  was  considerable  jealousy  on  the  part  of 
the  infantry  against  the  cavalry,  the  "foot-pads" 
thinking  the  riders  had  the  easiest  time,  and  sel- 
dom omitted  an  opportunity  to  make  game  of  them, 
especially  when  the  cavalry  would  be  passing  them 
on  a  march,  and  the  old  chaff  of  uCome  down  out 
o'  that  hat,  know  yo're  thar  ;  see  your  legs  a  hang- 
ing down  !"      "Get  from  behin'  them  boots  !  needn't 


How  a  One- Legged  Rebel  Lives.  41 

say  you  aint  thar ;  see  your  ears  a  workin'  !"  will 
be  remembered  while  any  of  the  old  soldiers  live. 
But  I  think  the  cutest  thing  I  ever  heard  was  by 
an  old  infantry  man,  on  the  Valley  pike,  in  1863. 
He  was  resting,  his  arms  crossed  on  the  muzzle  of 
his  musket,  when  a  dashing-looking  cavalry  man, 
wearing  considerable  gold  lace  and  feathers,  rode 
up.  The  infantryman  eyed  him  quizzically,  for  a 
few  minutes,  and  then  accosted  him  with,  "Say, 
Mister,  did  you  ever  see  a  dead  Yankee?"  and 
paused  to  enjoy  the  contemptuously  dignified,  silent 
stare  of  the  cavalier.  The  old  knapsack-toter  then 
continued:  "Cause  if  you  didn't,  and  you'll  go 
along  with  us  for  about  an  hour  we'll  show  you 
one."  This  failing  to  elicit  any  response,  he  be- 
gan again,  in  a  very  reassuring  tone  :  "You  needn't 
be  afeered,  Mister,  'cause  there  haint  none  of 
our  cavalry  got  killed  yet,  and  I  hain't  never  heered 
of  but  one  of  'em  gittin'  hurt,  and  he  was  kicked 
while  he  was  currying  of  his  creeter."  Of  course 
there  was  a  yell,  as  the  "wore  out"  cavalryman 
rode  off  as  lively  as  he  could,  and  the  footman 
set  his  trap  for  the  next  one. 

We  boys  didn't  make  so  much  sport  of  the  cavalry 
alter  Front  Royal,  and  it  was  no  uncommon  sight 
to  see  a  dead  man  with  spurs  on  during  the  Valley 
campaign.  The  artillery,  too,  under  the  famous 
commanders,  Poague,  Chew,  Courtney,  Carpenter, 


42  How  a  One-Legged  Rebel  Lives. 

Lattimer,  Caskie,  Raines,  Luck,   Miller,  Cutshaw, 
Wooding,  and  others,  did  splendid  service.  1    ^ji!j{]8 

I  do  not  think  I  ever  saw  a  list  of  the  regiments 
in  Jackson's  first  campaign  in  the  Shenandoah  Val- 
ley, and  believing  it  will  interest  the  reader,  will 
endeavor  to  give,  from  memory  and  reading,  what 

I  believe  to  be  a  correct  statement  of  them  : 

From  Virginia,  there  were  the  2d,  4th,  5th,  10th, 
13th,  21st,  23d,  27th,  31st,  33d,  37th,  42d,  44th, 
48th,  5 2d,  and  58th  regiments,  and  the  1st  (Irish) 
battalion,  infantry. 

From  Louisiana,  the  6th.  7th,  8th  and  9th  regi- 
ments, and  Major  Wheat's  "Tiger"  battalion,  in- 
fantry. 

From  Georgia,  the  12th  and  21st  regiments,  in- 
fantry. 

From  North  Carolina,  the  21st  regiment,  infantry, 

From  Alabama,  the  15th  regiment,  infantry. 

From  Mississippi,    the  16th  regiment,    infantry. 

From  Maryland,  the  1st  regiment,  infantry. 

The  cavalry  of  General  Ashby  was  the  7th  and 
1 2th  regiments,  and  the  17th  battalion,  Virginia, 
and  the  brigade  which  came  over  with  General 
Bwell  was  the  2d  and  6th  Virginia,,  with  one  com- 
panf,  under  E  well's  special  orders,  commanded  by 
Capt.  E.  V.  White,  from  Loudoun  county,  Va. — 
making  27  regiments  and  2  battalions  of  infantry, 
4  regiments  and  1  battalion  of  cavalry,  and,  I  think, 

II  batteries,  of  about  44  guns  altogether. 


How  a  One- Legged  Rebel  Lives.  43 

Of  course  I  am  rambling,  moving  along  the  route 
towaids  the  point  where  I  became  a  "one-legged 
Rebel,"  and  I  got  there  soon  enough,  but  it  took 
me  by  Winchester,  on  Sunday  morning,  May  25, 
1862,  where  I  helped  all  I  could  to  crush  the  life  out  of 
General  Banks'  army,  and  such  a  glorious  welcome 
as  met  us  from  the  warm-hearted  people  of  that 
famous  old  town.  There  was  some  righting  in  the 
streets,  but  the  happy  inhabitants  wouldn't  stay 
indoors,  not  even  the  women  and  babies  ;  but  almost 
almost  frantic  with  delight,  they  with  one  breath 
blessed  us  for  coming,  and  the  next  blamed  us  for 
letting  so  many  Yankees  get  away.  They  evidently 
expected  impossible  things  from  "Stonewall's" 
men,  such  as  catching  crows  on  the  wing,  or  the 
"wild  gazelle  on  Judah's  hills,"  either  of  which 
was  as  possible  as  to  overtake  General  Bank's 
runaways. 

The  singularly  brilliant  idea  of  Gen.  Geo.  H. 
Stuart,  who  commanded  the  little  cavalry  brigade, 
composed  of  the  2d  and  6th  regiments,  that  inas- 
much as  he  belonged  to  EwelPs  division  he  was  not 
subject  to  General  Jackson's  immediate  command, 
permitted  many  of  the  enemy  to  make  their  escape, 
and  the  whole  cavalry  force  was  so  scattered  as  not 
to  be  available  for  pursuit  of  the  flying  Federals, 
at  the  proper  moment,  which  was  unfortunate  for 
us,  but  we  told  the  Winchester  tolks  that  we  had 


44  How  a  One-Legged  Rebel  Lives. 

done  our  best,  and  they  showed  their  appreciation 
of  our  efferts  by  standing  on  the  streets  with  quan- 
tities of  good  things  to  eat,  which  they  pressed 
upon  the  eagerly  moving  soldiers,  and  here  allow 
me  to  say,  from  personal  experience,  that  it  was 
perfectly  safe,  under  any  circumstances,  to  force 
nice,  roast  beef,  ham,  buiscuit,  pies,  cakes,  pickles 
and  the  like  upon  any  marching  column  of  Confed- 
erate soldiers,  whether  they  were  pursuing  a  routed 
enemy  or  fighting  him  in  the  streets  of  a  town,  and 
no  person  who  did  it  was  ever  hurt. 

We  had  done  the  best  we  could  for  Mr.  Banks, 
and  were  pretty  well  pleased  with  ourselves  once 
more,  so  that  the  old  spirit  of  "generalship"  again 
spread  its  mantle  over  each  soldier  in  the  line,  and 
he  knew  exactly  how  to  manage  the  campaign 
thenceforward  notwithstanding  our  ideas  had  not 
been  strictly  followed  by  General  Jackson  in  the 
opening  of  it,  but  we  did  not  fully  agree  as  to  pre- 
liminaries now,  some  of  us  being  strongly  in  favor 
of  taking  immediate  march  to  Harrisburg,  Pa.,  and 
operating  from  that  point  as  a  base,  while  many 
thought  we  should  make  an  instant  attack  on  Wash- 
ington City  itself,  and  thereby  draw  General 
McClellan  out  of  his  intrenched  lines  on  the  Chic- 
ahominy,  thereby  giving  General  Johnston  the 
opportunity  he  was  looking  for  to  ruin  him  as  we 
had  done  the  armies  opposed  to  us. 


How  a  One-Legged  Rebel  Lives.  45 

We  knew  we  were  going  to  hold  the  Valley  any- 
how, for  of  course  the  war  was  almost  over  now — 
and  how  we  did  pity  the  fellows  at  home,  youngsters 
and  the  like,  who  wouldn't  get  any  experience  in 
camping,  marching  and  fighting,  nor  any  share  of 
the  glory  that  radiated  around  and  all  about 
f  'Stonewall"  Jackson's  men. 

We  had  nearly  made  up  our  minds  to  elect 
"Stonewall"  President  of  the  Confederate  States 
at  the  next  election,  although  Beauregard  was  still 
the  soldiers'  idol,  and,  as  yet,  we  had  heard  very 
little  of  "Marse  Robert,"  for  Seven  Pines  had  not 
been  fought,  and  "Joe  Johnston,"  the  "great 
retreater,"  was  still  falling  back  somewhere  about 
the  Peninsula.  But  we  were  not  falling  back — 
were  not  of  that  kind  !  Come  to  stay  we  had,  and 
like  Alexander,  were  sedulously  looking  out  for 
other  armies  to  conquer.  So  it  passed,  and  we 
trotted  about  to  hurry  Banks'  demoralized  legions 
over  the  border,  and  swelling  with  pride  in  our 
generalship. 

While  the  fighting  at  Winchester  was  in  progress, 
one  of  the  staff  suggested  to  General  Jackson  that 
he  was  exposing  himself  too  much,  and  the  answer 
was,  "Tell  the  troops  to  push  right  on, to  the  Po- 
tomac," and  this  became  a  kind  of  watchword  with 
us  ;  but  General  Banks  got  there  first,  and  promptly 
reported  to  his  government  that  "he  had  accom- 


46  How  a  One- Legged  Rebel  Lives. 

plished  a  premeditated  march  of  nearly  sixty  miles, 
in  the  face  of  the  enemy,  defeating  his  plans  and 
giving  him  battle  wherever  found  ;"  that  he  uhad 
not  suffered  an  attack  or  rout,"  but  he  naively 
added  that  "it  is  seldom  a  river-crossing  of 
such  magnitude  is  achieved  with  greater  success, 
and  there  were  never  more  greateful  hearts  in  the 
same  number  of  men  than  when,  on  the  26th,  we 
stood  on  the  opposite  shore."  These  quotations 
are  taken  verbatim,  by  John  Baston  Cooke,  from 
the  records  of  the  War  Department  at  Washington, 
and  if,  after  reading  them,  anybody  has  anything 
to  say,  I  give  them  liberty  to  say  it.  It  may  be 
that  "Stonewall"  had  some  idea  of  making  a  "pre- 
meditated march"  himself,  but  if  so  he  said  nothing 
to  "us  generals"  about  it;  but  we  noticed  that  he 
took  the  unnecessary  precaution — as  we  thought — 
to  start  Colonel  Cunningham  with  his  regiment,  the 
21st  Virginia,  up  the  pike  from  Winchester,  as 
quick  as  he  could  get  the  stuff  together,  with  3,000 
prisoners,  100  cattle,  and  a  great  train  of  wagons 
loaded  with  34,000  pounds  of  bacon,  with  flour, 
salt,  bread,  coffee,  sugar,  cheese,  etc.,  in  proportion, 
and  $125,185.00  worth  of  commissary  stores, 
$25,000  worth  of  sutler's  goods,  an  immense  quan- 
tity of  medical  and  hospital  supplies,  and  9,354 
small  arms,  with  two  pieces  of  artillery  and  a  great 
many   cavalry   horses  and  equipments.      All  such 


How  a  One-Legged  Rebel  Lives.  47 

goods  as  this,  though  rated  on  the  quartermaster's 
inventory  as  actual  cash  value,  had  been  bought 
and  paid  for  in  another  currency,  more  precious  to 
many  than  greenbacks,  gold  or  silver,  and  we  go  to 
another  ledger  to  learn  that  price,  as  shown  by  the 
list  of  killed  and  wounded. 

On  this  advance  movement  down  the  Valley  every 
man  was  pressing  to  the  front  with  a  vim  and  en- 
thusiasm which  gave  the  enemy  no  rallying  point 
or  time  to  prepare  a  line  of  defence,  and  General 
Jackson  said  that  "the  battles  of  Front  Royal  and 
Wirichester  had   been  fought  without  a  straggler." 

Our  loss  was  68  killed,  327  wounded  and  three 
missing,  but  I  do  not  know  that  of  the  enemy. 
We  paroled  700  of  their  wounded  and  left  them  at 
Winchester  in  their  own  hospitals,  but  I  will  not 
attempt  any  calculation  of  their  loss  from  the  data. 
The  letter  of  a  Northern  correspondent  at  the  time 
says:  "Banks  lost  over  $2,000,000  in  property," 
and  we  know  that  Colonel  Connor,  who  was  left  by 
Jackson  with  one  regiment  at  Front  Royal,  destroyed 
nearly  $300,000  worth  of  property  at  that  place 
when  he  was  driven  from  there  by  McDowell  in 
advance.  The  Philistines  had  broken  up  the  polit- 
ical Sampson,  but  he  "hadn't  suffered  defeat,"  so 
he  told  the  Secretary  of  War.  I  hope  my  readers 
will  pardon  my  apparent  exultation  in  passing  over 
this  part  of  the  road,    because   I   can't  help  being 


48  How  a  One-Legged  Rebel  Lives. 

proud  of  the  deeds  my  comrades  did,  and  when 
I  get  to  campaigning  in  memory's  fields  with 
"Stonewall  the  Great,"  my  pulses  quicken  like  a 
race-horse. 

I  don't  mean  any  disrespect  to  anybody — but  am 
a  little  like  the  old  "grayback"  who,  after  the  sur- 
render, went  to  the  Provost  Marshal,  at  Charlottes- 
ville, to  be  paroled.  After  taking  all  the  oaths 
required  of  him,  he  asked  the  Provost  if  he  wasn't 
all  right.  uYes,"  said  the  Captain,  "you  are." 
"Good  a  Union  man  as  anybody,  ain't  I."  "Yes," 
replied  the  Captain,  "you  are  in  the  Union  now  as 
a  loyal  citizen,  and  can  go  ahead  all  right."  "Well, 
then,"  said  the  old  sinner;  "didn't  'Stonewall'  use 
to  give  us  h — 1  in  the  Valley."  You  see  he  was 
one  of  "Stonewall's  foot  cavalry,"  and  couldn't 
help  being  proud  of  it. 

But  I  must  return  to  the  army  of  generals  who 
were  going  to  hold  the  Valley.  We  did  not  hold 
it  until  the  30th  of  May,  down  at  the  bottom  end 
of  it — Charleston,  Bunker  Hill  and  vicinity — but  a 
Courier  came  to  General  Jackson,  and  among  other 
curious  matters,  related  that  Colonel  Connor's  force 
at  Front  Royal  had  been  captured  by  General 
Shields,  who  was  advancing  by  that  route,  that  the 
"great  pathfinder,"  Fremont,  was  moving  from  the 
west,  both  aiming  to  unite  at  Strasburg  with  a  com- 
bined force  of  nearly  40,000,  which  was  interesting 


How  a   One- Legged  Rebel  Lives.  49 

if  true,  and  most  of  it  proved  true,  for  Jackson  had 
only  15,000  effective  men — all  generals,  however — 
and  under  the  circumstances  each  general  unani- 
mously resolved  to  withdraw  from  the  lower  end  of 
the  Valley,  if  he  could,  and  abandon  for  the  pres- 
ent any  further  demonstrations  on  Harrisburg  and 
Washington,  therebv  relieving  those  threatened 
points  from  the  pressure  which  we  had  nearly  resolved 
to  bring  upon  them.  In  fact,  the  pressure  ap- 
peared to  have  been,  for  the  moment,  applied  in  a 
totally  different,  and,  to  us  generals,  a  very  unex- 
pected locality,  for  we  had  not  had  time  in  those 
four  days'  stay  to  familiarize  ourselves  with  the 
capacity  and  resources  of  that  part  of  the  country. 
We  managed  to  "hit  the  road"  brisk  enough  to 
become  familiar  with  that  though,  so  much  so  that 
the  last  of  us  made  fifty  miles,  walked  too,  from 
late  in  the  afternoon  of  the  30th  to  the  night  of  the 
31st,  which  put  us  at  Strasburg. 


CHAPTER  V. 

On  Sunday  morning,  June  1st,  1862,  we  walked 
out  on  the  Wardonsville  road  and  held  service  with 
General  Fremont's  advance,  which  we  checked,  and 
finally  drove  his  people  back  so  far  as  to  give  us 
wagon  room  and  let  all  of  our  trains  get  safely  past 
this  dangerous  point. 


50  How  a  One-Legged  Rebel  Lives. 

We  fully  expected  General  Shields  to  take  part 
in  the  exercises,  which  would  have  rendered  them 
much  more  interesting  to  us,  and  knowing  him  to 
have  been  at  Front  Royal  we  knew  it  would  be 
comparatively  easy  for  him  to  do,  but  his  failure  to 
appear  satisfied  us  that  he  had  taken  the  Page  Val- 
ley route,  and  now  we  were  in  for  a  race  to  New 
Market  Gap.  It  is  related,  on  good  authority,  that 
"once  upon  a  time"  a  traveler,  found  a  boy,  with 
hoe  and  crowbar,  hard  at  work  digging  under  a  big 
rock,  and  inquiring  what  he  was  after.  "Ground- 
hog under  here,"  was  the  sententious  reply.  "Do 
you  expect  to  get  him  out?"  asked  the  traveler. 
"Expect  to  get  him!"  said  the  boy — "got  to  get 
him  ;  preacher  be  at  our  house  to-day,  and  we're  out 
out  of  meat." 

It  was  a  "ground-hog  case"  now  with  "Stone- 
wall," for  this  fourteen-mile  wagon  train  carried 
the  visible  fruits  of  our  victory  over  Banks,  and  we 
"got  to  get"  to  New  Market  Gap  ahead  of  Shields 
or  he'd  cut  our  train  off.  We  did  get  there,  but  it 
was  a  busy  job,  especially  for  Ashby  and  the  rear 
guard,  and  the  light  batteries  and  the  sharp-shooters 
kept  up  one  continual  roar  all  the  way — day  and 
night — as  they  contested,  mile  by  mile,  the  advance 
of  Fremont's  column,  which  had  taken  the  road  in 
our  rear  when  we  left  Strasburg.  I  don't  believe 
he  could  have  saved  his  train  from  us,  if  the  con- 


\ 

How  a  One- Legged  Rebel  Lives.  51 

ditions  had  been  reversed,  and  Fremont  had  been 
conducting  the  retreat,  with  Jackson  leading  the 
advance,  which  brings  up  another  pretty  good  war 
anecdote  ;  whether  true  or  not,  makes  no  difference 
so  far  as  the  illustration  is  concerned  : 

During  the  long  and  bloody  battle  of  Cold  Har- 
bour, between  Grant  and  Lee,  in  1864.,  a  Yankee 
soldier  went  to  his  Captain  for  a  pass  to  army  head- 
quarters, saying  he  had  a  plan  for  ending  the  war, 
which  he  knew  would  work  if  he  could  get  the 
authorities  to  adopt  it,  but  he  positively  refused  to 
communicate  it  to  any  but  the  commanding  general. 
The  Captain  gave  him  the  pass,  and  after  consider- 
able difficulty  in  keeping  his  secret,  passing  regi- 
mental, brigade,  division  and  corps  commanders, 
the  sojdier  reached  Grant's  headquarters — and 
returned.  His  Captain  observed  that  he  seemed 
very  much  depressed  in  spirit,  and  promptly  inter- 
viewed him  as  to  the  result  of  his  mission,  and  by 
coaxing  got  a  report.  He  said  the  General  was 
absent  when  he  reached  headquarters,  but  the  staff 
was  so  urgent,  and  made  him  believe  that  it  was 
his  duty  to  immediately  give  such  important  infor- 
mation to  the  chief  that  he  did  so.  Here  he  stopped, 
but  the  Captain  insisted  upon  knowing  what  occur- 
red, and  finally  the  man  said;  "Well  Captain, 
they  don't  want  the  war  to  stop  nohow,  for  as  soon 
as  I  told  them  my  plan   they  kicked  me  out  of  the 


52  How  a  One- Legged  Rebel  Lives. 

tent  and  kept  it  up  for  fifty  yards,  clear  down  to 
the  woods  ;  and  I  came  away." 

"Now,  then,"  sad  the  Captain,  "What  was  the 
plan  you  proposed?" 

"Well,  Sir,"  replied  the  soldier,  "I  told  them  to 
let  Grant  and  Lee  swap  armies  and  the  war  would 
end  in  three  weeks." 

When  we  got  to  Woodstock  we  had  to  stop  and 
give  Fremont  a  lesson,  but  after  passing  Mt.  Jack- 
son and  destroying  the  bridge  over  the  Shenandoah, 
we  knew  we  were  clear — for  the  fluttering  signals 
on  the  Massanutton  told  us  that  our  cavalry  had 
destroyed  the  White  House  bridge  on  the  Luray 
road,  and  stopped  Shields  ;  so  now  "Stonewall" 
"like  a  weary  lion,"  as  Cook  puts  it,  slowly  dragged 
his  spoils  to  his  lair,  and  although  the  enemy  was 
up  with  us  again  we  knew  our  trains  were  safe.  At 
New  Market  we  got  the  news  of  the  battle  at  Seven 
Pines  ;  the  wounding  of  General  Johnson,  and  the 
assignment  of  Gen.  R.  E.  Lee  to  the  command  of 
the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia.  The  war  had 
begun  / 

We  had  another  brush  with  Fremont,  near  Har- 
risonburg, on  the  5th  of  June,  in  which  General 
Ashby  was  killed,  which  cast  a  gloom  over  the 
whole  army,  and  was  felt  to  be  an  irreparable  calam- 
ity by  every  man  in  it.  Our  division,  under  Gen- 
eral Ewell,  halted  at  Cross  Keys,    on  the   7th,  and 


How  a  One-Legged  Rebel  Lives.  53 

a 

made  arrangements  for  battle.  In  the  old  times 
there  had  stood,  at  the  intersection  of  several  roads, 
an  old-fashioned  tavern,  upon  the  swinging  sign  of 
which  was  painted  two  keys  crossed,  from  which 
the  name  was  derived  ;  and  now  it  was  to  be  made 
famous  by  Bwell's  fighting  division,  and  given  an 
enduring  name  on  the  page  of  history. 

On  Sunday,  June  8th,  1862,  we  were  ready  again 
for  our  usual  Sabbath  exercises,  and  Fremont  was 
on  hand  with  his  congregation.  The  52d  regiment 
got  a  fair  share  of  business  in  this  engagement,  and 
lost  a  good  many  men.  Major  Ross  was  among  the 
wounded,  so  was  Lieutenant  Samuel  Paul,  of  Com- 
pany D,  whose  leg  was  shivered  by  a  shell,  within 
five  steps  of  me,  which  caused  amputation.  He 
has  since  been  treasurer  of  Augusta  county,  and  I 
have  often  thought  I  would  like  to  be  treasurer  of 
something  myself — but  all  the  one-legged  Rebels 
can't  get  their  living  the  same  way,  and  Lieutenant 
Paul — gallant  soldier  and  good  officer  as  he  was — 
was  equally  as  good  a  citizen,  and  deserves  all  the 
success  he  achieved.  Lieutenant  King,  of  Company 
B,  was  killed  here,  and  we  were  quite  willing  for 
Fremont's  men  to  retire  when  they  had  got  as  much 
as  they  wanted. 

Our  brigade  was  commanded  in  this  battle  by 
General  George  H.  Stewart,  and  was  posted  on  the 
left  centre  of  Ewell's  line,  sustaining  and  repulsing 


54  How  a  One-Legged  Rebel  Lives, 

four  distinct  charges,  each  made  by  fresh  troops; 
but  they  were  mostly  Dutch,  and  we  fought  them 
to  the  best  advantage,  behind  trees,  which  General 
Ewell's  judicious  selection  of  the  ground  gave  us. 

Fremont's  Dutchman  were  no  match  for  the  ''foot- 
cavalry,"  and  although  General  Bwell  himself  says 
he  had  less  than  5,000  muskets,  and  Fremont's 
order  to  march,  which  was  taken  from  an  aid  of  Gen- 
eral Blenker  killed  by  one  of  Trimble's  men,  showed 
six  brigades,  commanded  by  Blenker,  Milroy, 
Stahel,  Steinwerh,  and  one  other,  of  infantry,  with 
one  brigade  of  cavalry,  numbering  in  all  about 
20,000,  yet  their  dread  of  Jackson  caused  them  to 
give  way  under  slight  pressure,  especially  when 
General  Trimble  struck  them  in  flank. 

General  Forrest,  the  famous  cavalry  commander 
of  Tennessee,  was  once  asked  a  question  as  to  the 
cause  of  his  almost  constant  success  in  his  cavalry 
operations,  when  other  commanders  so  frequently 
failed,  and  his  answer  was  :  "Well,  I  got  thar  first, 
with  the  most  men  ;"  and  that  in  a  sentence,  gives 
the  key  to  Jackson's  generalship,  if  you  add  to  it 
the  Cromwellian  motto,  "Trust  in  the  Lord,  and 
keep  your  powder  dry."  We  left  the  battle  ground 
of  Cross  Keys  at  midnight,  and  took  the  road  to 
Port  Republic,  where  Jackson,  with  his  division, 
had  been  holding  Shields  in  check  ;  but  the  gallant 
Irishman  was  now  coming  on  again  in  such  force  as 


How  a  One-Legged  Rebel  Lives.  55 

to  make  a  concentration  of  our  forces  necessary. 
General  Fremont  reported  his  total  loss  at  Cross 
Keys  fight  as  2,000,  while  General  Ewell's  official 
report  of  our  loss  was  300  killed,  wounded,  and 
missing ;  a  very  encouraging  affair  to  EwelPs  boys, 
who  held  the  battle-ground,  and  equally  discourag- 
ing to  Fremont's  who  were  forced  to  retreat. 

The  village  of  Port  Republic  lies  in  the  angle 
made  by  the  junction  of  the  North  and  South 
Rivers,  which  here  form  the  south  fork  of  the 
Shenandoah,  along  the  east  side  of  which  General 
Shield's  was  moving.  The  Cross  Keys  road  crosses 
the  North  River  by  a  good  bridge,  into  the  town, 
and  another  road  runs  northeast  from  the  town 
by  a  ford  in  the  South  River,  and  down  the  south 
fork,  by  Conrad's  store,  to  Luray.  A  third  crosses 
at  the  same  ford  and  running  southeast,  through 
Brown's  Gap,  in  the  Blue  Ridge,  leads  to  Char- 
lottsville.  I  don't  think  it  any  harm  to  give  this 
much  geography,  even  if  all  my  readers  should  al:o 
be  posted  in  the  big  histories,  but  I  am  satisfied 
that  many  will  read  this  who  never  saw  any  of  the 
aforesaid  big  histories  ;  and  they  will  thus  be  better 
able  to  comprehend  the  successful  performance  of 
all  the  points  of  Jackson's  magnificent  strategy. 

The  position  then  was,  Fremont  at  Harrisonburg, 
Shields  at  Conrad's  Store — between  which  all  the 
bridges  were  destroyed — and  Jackson   at  Port  Re- 


56  How  a  One-Legged  Rebel  Lives. 

public,  forming  a  triangle,  with  sides  fifteen  miles 
long.  Behind  Jackson  was  the  road  through 
Brown's  Gap,  clear  and  open,  so  that  he  could  fight 
them  separately  or  fall  back  to  Charlottesville  and 
Richmond,  and  his  operations  up  to  this  time  had 
caused  the  troops  of  McDowell,  Fremont  and 
Shields  to  be  withheld  from  McClellan,  and  at  the 
same  time  put  his  own  army  within  easy  reach  of 
Richmond  should  General  Lee  desire  his  assistance. 
Fremont  with  his  18,000  and  Shields  with  his 
15,000,  would  have  been  too  much  odds  for  Jack- 
son's 12,000,  to  which  he  had  been  reduced  since 
leaving  Winchester ;  and  he  had  no  idea  of  permit- 
ting them  to  double  on  him,  but  he  had  got  Fre- 
mont whipped  by  Bwell  so  easily,  at  Cross  Keys, 
that  he  determined  to  double  his  own  team  and  give 
Shields  a  trial.  "Stonewall"  was  a  thorough  and 
consistant  Christian,  so  far  as  I  know,  and  was 
reported  to  do  a  great  deal  of  praying,  but  he  cer- 
tainly did  practice  a  great  deal  of  deception  on  these 
two  estimable  gentlemen  right  here.  We  crossed  the 
bridge  over  the  North  River  early  in  the  morning 
of  June  q,  1862,  and  set  it  on  fire  as  soon  as  every- 
thing was  over — thus  preventing  General  Fremont 
from  coming  to  Shields'  assistance — but  the  ford  of 
South  River,  owing  to  recent  rains,  was  too  deep 
for  us,  and  we  made  a  bridge  of  wagons  and  planks 
to  get  over  on.     Jackson's  men  were  already  engaged 


How  a  One-Legged  Rebel  Lives.  57 

with  the  enemy  and  needed  Ewell's  assistance 
right  away,  and  here  was  illustrated  the  influence 
of  trifles  on  important  events. 

We  could  see  the  uStonewall  Brigade"  and  Col- 
onel Harry  Hayes'  gallant  7th  Louisiana,  with  the 
splendid  batteries  of  Poague  and  Carpenter  hotly 
fighting,  but  heavily  overmatched,  and  we  were 
hurrying  as  fast  as  we  could  to  their  assistance  when 
a  plank  in  our  wagon-bridge  slipped  out,  almost 
breaking  up  our  means  of  crossing,  and  did  delay 
us  considerably,  so  much  so  that  by  the  time  we 
got  over,  formed  our  line  and  commenced  our  ad- 
vance upon  the  enemy,  we  met  General  Winder's 
troops  retiring  in  confusion. 

The  44th  and  58th  Virginia,  by  General  Ewell's 
directions,  made  a  hot  attack  on  the  enemy's  flank, 
but  could  not  hold  him  long,  and  the  whole  line 
fell  back  to  a  piece  of  woods,  losing  one  of  Poague' s 
6-pounders  and  a  good  many  men.  General  Shields 
put  a  splendid  6-gun  battery  in  a  magnificent  posi- 
tion to  sweep  the  field,  and  I  don't  think  he  had  an 
imported  Dutchman  in  his  army.  They  were  all 
Western  fellows,  and  stuck  to  their  ground  as  if 
they  belonged  there,  and  it  is  my  candid  opinion  - 
that  they  were  descendants  of  folks  who  had,  years 
before,  emigrated  to  the  great  West,  from  the  Shen- 
andoah Valley.  Our  advance,  under  General  Elzy, 
was  through  a  fine  field  of  wheat  bordering  on  the 


58 


How  a  One-Legged  Rebel  Lives. 


river  bottom,  chin  high,  and  their  minnie  balls 
clipped  the  grain  worse  than  reapers.  It  was  a 
very  bad  job  of  harvesting,  the  boys  said— a  har- 
vest of  death  it  proved— and  much  as  we  tried  to 
make  it  short,  the  time  dragged  slowly  enough, 
until  it  did  seem  that  Shields  was  fully  a  match  for 
1  'Stonewall' '  Jackson. 

The  two  commanders  maneuvered  their  men 
under  fire,  just  [as  the  old-time  warriors  used  to  do 
before  (long  range  weapons  came  into  use,  but 
still  that  terrible  6-gun  battery  held  the  key  of  the 
battle,  and  when  General  Taylor  rode  up,  Jackson 
turned  to  him  and  said  :  "Can  you  take  that  bat- 
tery?— it  must  be  taken  I" 

Taylor's  answer  was  to  gallop  back  to  his  brig- 
ade, and  pointing  with  his  sword  to  the  enemy's 
guns,  called  out,  in  a  voice  like  a  bugle-blast,  for 
thrilling  wildness,  'Xouisianians,  can  you  take 
that  battery?"  They  answered,  with  a  yet  wilder 
thrill,  "We're  the  boys  that  can  do  that,  General. 
You  can  bet  on  your  boys  !"  and  the  gallant  son  of 
"Old  Rough  and  Ready"  led  them  forward. 

Three  times:  the  Louisiana  brigade  drove  the 
enemy  back  and  captured  the  guns,  but  were  as 
often  repulsed,  in  turn,  by  the  splendid  soldiers  of 
Shields.  Taylor  turned  savagely  for  another  trial, 
and  Jackson  seeing  that  Shields  was  heavily  re- 
enforcing  his  left  to  protect  the  battery,  brought  all 


How  a  One- Legged  Rebel  Lives.  59 

he  could  to  his  own  left,  and  as  the  Louisiana  boys 
made  their  last  assault  on  the  guns,  threw  all  he  had 
on  Shields'  right,  breaking  it  all  up,  and  at  the 
same  time  Taylor  took  those  dreadful  guns,  again 
turned  them  on  the  enemy,  and  the  victory  was 
won;  but,  as  Cowan  said  to  the  devil — "'twas 
claw  for  claw,"  and  we  had  fought  as  fine  a  body 
of  troops  as  there  was  on  the  Continent,  fully  justi- 
fying the  assurance  of  the  6th  Louisiana — an  Irish 
regiment — who  said,  when  Fremont  was  beaten 
the  day  before,  uThis  isn't  much,  but  look  out  for 
to-morrow,  for  Shields'  boys  will  be  after  fighting." 
The  battle  of  Port  Republic  was  one  of  the  most 
sanguinary  of  the  war,  and  we  lost  nearly  1,000 
men  killed  and  wounded.  I  do  not  know  the  loss 
of  the  enemy  in  killed  and  wounded,  but  we  cap- 
tured 7  pieces  of  artillery  with  limbers  and  caissons, 
975  prisoners,  and  more  than  1,000  small  arms. 
One  of  the  prisoners  said  to  us — "You  fired  over 
our  heads  at  Winchester,  but  you  fired  under  them 
here." 

General  Shields  returned  to  Conrad's  Store,  but 
he  was  never  routed,  and  stopped  when  Jackson  did. 
He  was  badly  crippled  though,  and  Kernstown  was 
atoned  for,  and  the  "Great  Pathfinder,"  Fremont, 
was  no  longer  able  to  act  offensively  in  the  Valley 
— except  towards  the  citizens — but  in  this  he  was 
far  superior  in   magnanimity  to  Milroy  and  others. 


60  How  a  One-Legged  Rebel  Lives. 

General  Shields  was  a  favorite  with  the  people 
among  whom  he  operated,  and  treated  them  with 
consideration  and  kindness,  but  he  was  a  terror 
when  it  came  to  righting. 

And  now  was  accomplished  the  full  purpose  of 
"Stonewall's"  strategy,  for  it  was  fully  guaranteed 
that  not  another  soldier  could  be  spared  from  the 
defences  of  Washington  to  arrest  McClellan  in  the 
Chickahominy,  because  of  the  unknown  motions  of 
the  man  who  could  disappear  and  reappear  so  sud- 
denly and  unexpectedly,  and  while  making  such 
audacious  marches  right  into  the  jaws  of  his  pow- 
erful enemies,  deliver  such  fearful  blows  and  get 
out  whole. 

The  very  uncertainty  and  mystery  which  hung 
around  him  was  worth  as  army,  for  it  kept  an  army 
of  the  enemy  unemployed  while  waiting  for  Jack- 
son to  develop  his  plan. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

After  Port  Republic  we  enjoyed  ourselves  in  our 
pleasant  June  camps  about  Mt.  Meridian,  and  be- 
gun our  planning  and  generalship  again.  There 
hadn't  been  quite  so  much  of  that  among  us  since 
we  left  Strasburg,  for  the  situation  appeared  to 
be  mixed  to  such  an  extent  that  for  some  time  each 
individual  general  had  nearly  decided  that  it  would 


How  a  One-Legged  Rebel  Lives.  61 

be  as  much  as  the  bargain  to  get  his  own  individual 
baggage  out  safe,  but  now  we  had  shaken  off  the 
dogs  of  war  which  had  howled  at  our  heels  and 
gnashed  at  our  flanks  like  blood-hounds  hunting 
the  lion,  and  being  free  again  were  ready  for  a  new 
campaign. 

I  think  it  best,  from  this  time  forward,  to  deal 
less  in  general  history,  if  I  can,  so  long  as  the  war 
lasts,  and  give  my  readers  more  of  the  incidents  that 
cluster  around  the  life  of  the  soldier — but  I  couldn't 
help  talking  as  I  did  about  the  Valley  campaign  ; 
and  now  "Stonewall"  was  our  hero  and  idol.  His 
old,  ambling  sorrel,  was  in  our  eyes,  a  war  charger 
worthy  of  a  Cceur  de  Iyion  ;  and  his  dingy  coat  and 
mangy  cap  were  glorified.  We  didn't  make  game 
of  him  any  more,  but  one  irreverent  fellow  started, 
as  a  conundrum,  "Why  is  General  Jackson  a  better 
leader  than  Moses  was?"  answering — "because  it 
took  Moses  forty  years  to  march  the  children  of 
Israel  through  the  Wilderness,  and  Jackson  would 
have  doubled-quicked  them  through  in  three  days." 
The  army  had  suffered  all  the  usual  trials  of  mili- 
tary life— and  death  too — in  time  of  war,  and  the 
men  had  been  hurried  by  day  and  by  night ;  in 
storm  and  sunshine  ;  in  hunger  and  cold  ;  on  picket 
and  camp  guard  ;  in  the  whistling  tempest  of  lead, 
and  the  howling,  deamon  shriek  of  shell  ;  in  the 
mangling  of  comrades,  and  the  hasty  burial  of  our 


62  How  a  One-Legged  Rebel  Lives. 

dead  on  the  field  where  they  fell — and  yet  so  won- 
derfully recuperative  is  the  mind  of  man,  that  as 
soon  as  the  pressure  of  adverse  circumstances  is 
removed,  he  lights  his  candle  at  the  burning  torch 
of  hope  and  leaves  the  past  behind  him.  Just  so 
did  we,  the  men  and  boys,  who  had  followed  "Stone- 
wall" through  his  trying  campaign,  come  out 
bright  and  fresh,  ready  to  follow  again  wherever  the 
star  of  his  destiny  might  lead — for  we  wanted  to 
follow  that  destiny  wherever  it  might  be. 

The  brigade  to  which  my  regiment  was  attached 
was  composed  of  the  13th  Virginia  regiment,  made 
up  of  companies  from  the  counties  of  Culpeper, 
Louisia,  Orange,  Frederick  and  Hampshire,  and 
was  commanded,  during  the  war,  by  Colonels  A.  ]?. 
Hill,  J.  A.  Walker  and  Terrell.  The  31st  Virginia, 
from  Upsher,  Randolph,  Gilmer,  Barbour  and  High- 
land, under  Colonel  Hoffman.  The  49th  Virginia, 
from  Rappahannock,  Prince  William,  Fauquier, 
Nelson  and  Amhurst,  under  Colonels  Smith  (extra) 
and  Gibson.  And  the  52d  Virginia — my  own  old 
regiment — was  from  Augusta,  Rockbridge  and  Bath, 
and  had  for  Colonels,  during  the  war,  Baldwin, 
Harman,  Watkins,  Skinner  and  Lilly.  Our  Brig- 
adiers were  Edward  Johnson,  Elzey,  Pegram  and 
Stewart. 

These  were  all  gallant  soldiers  and  good  officers, 
whose  names  have  gone  into  history  gloriously,  but 


How  a  One-Legged  Rebel  Lives.  63 

4 'us  boys"  made  the  wreaths  of  fame  that  bound 
their  brows,  and  we  are  proud  that  they  wore  them 
worthily. 

A.  P.  Hill  reached  the  rank  of  Lieutenant-Gen- 
eral, and  was  killed  near  Petersburg,  by  a  straggler, 
just  as  the  star  'of  peace  breaking  through  the 
clouds.  Terrell  and  Watkins  were  both  killed,  so 
was  Board,  and  Hoffman,  a  late  judge  in  West  Vir- 
ginia, lost  a  foot ;  but  the  old  hero,  Lieutenant- 
General  J.  A.  Early,  more  thoroughly  lied  on  than 
any,  and  with  whom  more  ability  than  all  his 
traducers  combined,  is  now  dead  ;  while  Gibson,  of 
Culpeper,  is  one  of  the  most  prominent  lawyers  of 
Middle  Virginia,  and  may  yet  be  Governor,  carries 
on  his  person  the  scars  of  ten  wounds  received  in 
battle.  It  used  to  appear  very  much  as  if  fate, 
and  not  accident,  had  control  of  the  bullets  in  bat- 
tle, for  some  men  went  bravely  through  battle  after 
battle  with  never  a  scratch  to  show  for  it,  and  were 
finally  killed  in  some  little  insignificant  skirmish, 
where  not  a  dozen  shots  were  fired  ;  and  then  again 
there  were  men  who  would  be  wounded  in  every 
battle  if  they  came  in  cannon  shot  of  the  field.  I 
know  one  instance  where  as  good  a  soldier  as  fought 
in  the  Southern  Army  got  hit  with  a  ball  every  time 
he  went  into  a  fight, but  not  one  serious  wound  among 
them,  and  his  brother,  in  the  same  company, 
equally  as  good  a  soldier,  who  never  missed  a  battle, 


64  How  a  One- Legged  Rebel  Lives. 

went  safely  through  the  war  with  only  one  wound. 

Some  soldiers  seemed  to  move  in  a  charmed 
circle  of  safety,  while  others  appeared  to  be  bright 
particular  objects  of  special  favoritism  when  wounds 
were  to  be  distributed,  and  in  the  latter  part  of  the 
war  the  soldier  was  thought  by  his  comrades  to  be 
especially  lucky  when  he  got  a  furlough  wound — 
one  that  didn't  quite  kill,  but  allowed  him  to  stay 
at  home  while  it  was  healing. 

We  remained  in  the  Valley  long  enough  to  get 
rested  up  good,  and  then  moved  through  Brown's 
Gap,  and  "on  to  Richmond,"  for  the  new  general 
of  the  army  there  was  tired  of  McClellan's  parallels, 
redoubts,  salients  and  other  engineering  schemes  on 
the  Chicahominy,  and  desired  to  put  a  l  'Stonewall' ' 
across  the  road. 

I  remember  picking  up  a  Richmond  paper  about 
this  time  which  contained  a  letter  from  a  young 
lady  in  the  country  to  her  friend  in  the  city,  invit- 
ing her  to  pay  a  visit,  and  the  ingenious  working 
in  of  the  names  ot  our  Generals  interested  me  so 
much  that  I  retained  it  in  memory.  The  latter  ran 
thus — 

"Come,  leave  the  noisy  longstreet, 
And  come  to  the  fields  with  me, 

Tip  o'er  the  heath  with  flying  feet 
And  skip  along  the  lea. 

There  ewell  find  the  flowers  that  be 
Along  the  stonewall  still. 


How  a  One-Legged  Rebel  Lives.  65 

And  pluck  the  buds  of  flowering  pea 

That  bloom  on  yappy  hill, 
Across  our  rodes  the  forrest  boughs 

A  stately  archway  form 
Where  sadly  pipes  the  early  bird 

Which  failed  to  catch  the  worm." 

Do  for  a  school-girl  pretty  well  I  thought. 

Coming  out  of  the  mountain  pass  we  entered  Albe- 
marle county  just  when  the  cherries  were  ripe,,  and 
there  were  oceans  of  them,  too.  We  got  all  we 
could  of  them,  but  time  was  too  precious  to  waste 
in  gathering  cherries,  for  this  march  was  to  be  made 
without  the  knowledge  of  the  enemy,  and  in  order 
to  do  this  the  soldiers  were  forbidden  to  tell  the 
citizens  what  commands  they  belonged  to,  and  were 
instructed  to  answer  all  questions  in  regard  to  the 
army  with — "I  don't  know." 

The  people  all  kept  open  house  in  Albemarle, 
and  the  "foot  cavalry"  enjoyed  many  a  good,  square 
meal  among  them.  We  sang  the  song  of  "Old 
Virginia  Never  Tire,"  and  were  very  proud  of  our 
old  State  when  the  Alabama,  North  Carolina  and 
Mississippi  boys  praised  our  people  for  their  kind- 
ness and  hospitality. 

General  "Dick"  Taylor  tells  of  a  breakfast  he 
had  with  some  old  friends  and  relatives  of  his  father 
in  Orange  county,  on  this  march,  which  I  think  of 
sufficient  interest  to  repeat  it  in  his  own  language : 

"  *  *  *  That  night  we  camped  between  Char- 


66  How  a  One-Legged  Rebel  Lives. 

lottesville  and  Gordonsville,  in  Orange  county,  the 
birthplace  of  my  father.  A  distant  kinsman,  whom 
I  had  never  met,  came  to  invite  me  to  his  house 
in  the  neighborhood.  Learning  that  I  always  slept 
in  camp,  he  seemed  so  much  distressed  as  to  get  my 
consent  to  breakfast  with  him  if  he  would  engage  to 
have  breakfast  at  the  barbarous  hour  of  sunrise. 
His  home  was  a  little  distant  from  the  road,  so  the 
following  morning  he  sent  a  mounted  groom  to  show 
the  wav.  My  aide,  young  Hamilton,  accompanied 
me,  and  Tom  followed,  of  course.  It  was  a  fine  old 
mansion,  surrounded  by  well-kept  grounds.  This 
immediate  region  had  not  yet  been  touched  by  war. 
Flowering  plants  and  rose  trees,  in  full  bloom, 
attested  the  glorious  wealth  of  June.  On  the  broad 
portico,  to  welcome  us,  stood  the  host  with  his  fresh, 
charming  wife,  and,  a  little  retired,  a  white-hearted 
butler.  Greetings  over  with  host  and  lady  this 
delightful  creature,  with  ebon  face  beaming  hospi- 
tality, advanced  holding  a  salver  on  which  rested  a 
huge  silver  goblet  filled  with  Virginia's  nectar,  mint 
julep.  Quantities  of  cracked  ice  rattled  refreshingly 
in  the  goblet,  sprigs  of  fragrant  mint  peered  above 
its  broad  rim,  a  mass  of  white  sugar  too  sweetly 
indolent  to  melt  rested  on  the  mint, and, like  rosebuds 
on  a  snowbank,  luscious  strawberries  crowned  the 
sugar.  Ah  !  that  julep  !  Mars  ne'er  received  such 
tipple  from   the  hands  of  Ganymede  !      Breakfast 


How  a  One-Legged  Rebel  Lives.  67 

was  announced,  and  what  a  breakfast !  A  beauti- 
ful service,  snowy  tablecloth,  damask  napkins — 
long  unknown  ;  above  all,  a  lovely  woman  in  crisp 
gown,  with  more  and  handsomer  roses  on  her  cheek 
than  in  her  garden.  'Twas  an  idyl  in  the  midst  of 
the  stern  realities  of  war!  The  table  groaned  beneath 
its  viands.  Sable  servitors  brought  in,  hot  from  the 
kitchen,  cakes  of  wonderous  forms,  inventions  of 
the  tropical  imaginations  of  Africa  inflamed  by 
Virginian  hospitality.  I  was  rather  a  moderate 
trencherman,  but  the  performance  of  Hamilton 
was  Gargantuan,  alarming.  Duty  dragged  us  from 
this  Eden;  yet  in  the  hurried  adieus  I  did  not  forget 
to  claim  of  the  fair  hostess  the  privilege  of  a  cousin. 
I  watched  Hamilton  narrowly  for  a  time.  The 
youth  wore  a  sodden,  apoplectic  look,  quite  out  of 
his  usual  brisk  form.  A  gallop  of  come  miles  put 
him  right,  but  for  days  he  dilated  on  the  breakfast 
with  the  gusto  of  one  of  Hannibal's  veterans  on 
the  delights  of  Capau." 

In  order  to  the  better  understanding  of  the  allu- 
sions to  Hamilton  and  Tom,  I  will  give  the  informa- 
tion that  Lieutenant  Hamilton  was  a  grandson  of 
General  Hamilton,  of  South  Carolina,  and  was  a 
cadet,  in  his  second  year,  at  West  Point  when  the 
war  commenced.  Tom  was  the  General's  servant, 
three  years  his  senior,  and  was  his  foster  brother 
and  early  playmate.     Tom's  uncle,  Charles  Porter 


68  How  a  One-Legged  Rebel  Lives. 

Strother,  had  been  body  servant  to  General  Zachary 
Taylor,  following  him  in  his  Indian  and  Mexican 
campaigns,  and  Tom  had  served  as  aide  to  his  uncle 
in  Florida  and  Mexico.  The  General  says  Tom 
could  light  a  fire  in  a  minute,  make  the  best  coffee, 
and  was  superb  at  all  manner  of  camp  stews  and 
roasts.  He  was  an  excellent  horse  groom  as  well 
as  an  expert  at  washing  and  ironing.  He  was 
always  cheerful,  but  never  laughed,  and  never 
spoke  unless  spoken  to.  General  Taylor  thinks 
there  was  a  mute  sympathy  between  General  Jack- 
son and  Tom,  and  gives  the  following  story  in 
evidence  of  it : 

He  says  he  has  often  noticed  them  as  they  sat 
silent  by  his  camp  fire,  Jackson  gazing  abstractedly 
into  the  fire  and  Tom,  respectfully  withdrawn, 
gazing  at  Jackson.  When  General  Taylor's  brigade 
went  into  action  at  Strasburg,  he  left  Tom  on  a  hill 
where  all  was  quiet.  After  awhile,  from  some 
change  in  the  enemy's  dispositions,  the  place 
became  rather  hot,  and  Jackson,  passing  by, 
advised  Tom  to  move;  but  he  replied,  if  the  Gen- 
eral pleased,  his  master  told  him  to  stay  there,  and 
he  would  know  where  to  find  him,  and  he  did  not 
believe  the  shells  would  bother  him.  Two  or  three 
nights  later,  General  Jackson  was  at  Taylor's  camp 
fire,  and  Tom  came  up  to  bring  them  some  coffee, 
whereupon  Jackson  rose  and  gravelv  shook  him  by 


How  a  One- Legged  Rebel  Lives.  69 

the  hand,  and  then  told  General  Taylor  how  Tom 
had  held  his  position  on  the  hill. 

This  little  "side  issue"  to  my  story  may  not 
interest  my  readers,  but  it  did  me,  very  much,  and 
I  give  it  at  a  venture,  and  will  now  resume  the 
march. 

Our  objective  point  was  Ashland,  R.  F.  &  P.  R. 
R.,  and  our  route  led  us  between  the  army  of 
McDowell  and  the  right  wing  of  McClellan.  As 
before  stated,  our  Generals  did  not  allow  us  to 
know  anything  at  all,  and  so  all  us  private  generals 
gave  the  thing  up  and  went  ahead  blindfolded,  with 
no  guide  but  our  unswerving  faith  in  General 
Jackson. 

Some  of  the  fellows  had  got  on  very  familiar 
terms  with  him,  indeed,  so  much  so  that  they 
addressed  him  in  common  conversation  as  "Old 
Jack  !" — that  is,  when  he  was  not  exactly  present. 
When  he  was  present  it  was  our  custom  to  throw 
up  our  hats  and  give  him  a  rolling,  rousing  cheer, 
which  usually  had  the  effect  to  hurry  him  along, 
and  I  doubt  very  much  if  he  liked  it,  for,  although 
he  always  took  off  his  cap  when  passing  this  ordeal 
of  homage,  I  noticed  he  got  out  of  reach  of  it  as 
fast  as  the  uold  sorrel"  would  take  him. 

But  our  pride  in  our  General  was  still  more 
increased  when  our  sweeping  fight,  beginning  at 
Mechanicsville,  brought  the  great,  high  generals  of 


70  How  a  One-Legged  Rebel  Lives. 

Lee's  army  over  to  our  side  of  the  Chickahominy 
to  report  to  "Stonewall,"  and  we  saw  Longstreet, 
A.  P.  and  D.  H.  Hill,  Hood,  Branch,  Stuart, 
Whiting  and  others,  taking  their  orders  gracefully 
from  our  great  Valley  Chieftain;  and  we  noticed 
the  difference  in  their  clothes,  too,  and  notwith- 
standing they  were  better  dressed,  we  could  see  a 
still  brighter  glow  of  glory  over  the  damaged 
ududs"  of  our  Jackson.  We  were  proud  of  glorious 
"Old  Dick"  Ewell,  too,  who  took  everything  so 
calmly,  except  when  he  was  excited,  and  was  always 
ready,  just  as  he  was  in  1847,  when  he  led  that 
squadron  of  Kearney's  dragoons  in  their  wild, 
dashing  charge  right  up  to  the  gates  of  the  City  of 
Mexico;  but  I  want  my  reader  not  to  forget  that 
our  "Stonewall"  is  the  prince  and  hero  of  this  little 
story  as  far  as  it  has  been  spun  yet,  and  I  want 
them  further  to  understand  that  the  statements  are 
historically  accurate  and  correct,  to  the  best  of  my 
knowledge  and  belief.  I  don't  think  there  can  be 
any  excuse  for  "knowingly  or  willingly"  incor- 
porating falsehood  in  this  little  retrospective  view, 
and  if  I  do  record  anything  not  true,  I  do  it 
unintentionally.     There  was  but  one  Jackson. 

This  Chickahominy  country  is  not  much  like  the 
royal  Valley  of  Virginia,  and  we  always  felt  lost  in 
it.  No  glimpse  ot  the  Blue  Ridge  charmed  our 
eyes,   nothing  but  flat,   sedgy  fields,  piney  woods 


How  a  One-Legged  Rebel  Lives.  71 

with  cypress  trimmings,  and  scrubby,  tangled 
mazes  of  wilderness,  and  swamps  with  stagnant, 
currentless  streams  of  coffee-colored  water.  The 
air  was  not  bracing  and  invigorating  like  our  own 
grand,  mountain  country,  but  came  lazily  creeping 
through  the  woods  and  sedges  in  a  languid,  half- 
and-half  style,  and  the  whole  thing  bore  on  our 
spirits  with  a  depressing  influence.  We  missed  the 
splendid,  gushing  springs  of  pure  water  we  had 
always  had  at  home,  but  never  appreciated  until 
now,  and  it  gave  us  infinite  trouble  to  rid  ourselves 
of  the  ticks  and  chiggers  that  camped  on  us  and 
entrenched  themselves  in  our  flesh.  We  knew  that 
our  depression  was  caused  by  the  general  sleepiness 
of  this  dreary,  dismal  country,  which  we  had  never 
seen  before,  for  it  resembles  the  whole  Southern 
lowland  country  from  which  came  those  gallant 
regiments  of  North  Carolina,  Georgia,  Mississippi, 
Alabama  and  Louisiana,  that  had  helped  us  redeem 
the  Valley,  and  the  effect  of  our  mountain  air  and 
water,  with  the  magnificent  views  of  our  rolling 
Valley,  and  its  clear,  bright,  rushing  rivers  upon 
those  whole-souled  Southern  men,  was  the  very 
reverse  of  what  this  country  had  upon  us,  but  our 
boys  said  it  was  all  right  for  a  battle-ground, 
because1  it  was  impossible  to  spoil  it,  and  it  seemed 
fit  for  nothing  else. 

No  Virginian  of  the  Valley  ever  ought  to  make 


72  How  a  One-Legged  Rebel  Lives. 

a  home  beyond  the  view  of  the  mountains,  for  he 
will  not  be  content,  and  will  always  feel  an  aching, 
longing  to  lay  eyes  on  their  billowy  blue,  no  matter 
how  long  he  may  stay  away  from  them.  "Absence 
cannot  conquer  love. " 

uBury  me  in  the  Valley  of  Virginia!"  said 
"Stonewall"  Jackson,  on  his  death-bed;  and  not 
one  of  our  boys  but  felt  in  their  hearts  the  same 
desire,  should  the  fate  of  war  require  the  sacrifice 
of  his  life,  but  we  didn't  think  as  much  of  dying  as 
the  circumstances  surrounding  us  justified;  nor  did 
the  soldiers  realize  the  nearness  of  death,  when  they 
were  campaigning,  more  than  people  do  who  plod 
along  through  their  daily  duty  in  the  piping  times 
of  peace.  As  it  had  been  in  our  Alleghany  Moun- 
tain campaign,  in  1861,  with  the  names  of 
mountains,  streams  and  bridges,  so  now  we  learned 
new  ones  to  us,  and  soon  our  -tongues,  glibly 
rounded  off,  in  conversation,  a  long  string  of  local 
names,  such  as  "Grapevine  Bridge,"  "Bottoms 
Bridge,"  "Long  Bridge,"  "York  River  Railroad," 
"White  House,"  "Pamunky,"  "Williamsburg 
Road,"  "Charles  City,"  "Nine  Mile  Road,"  "New 
Kent,"  "Hanover,"  etc.  But  there  was  one  road, 
much  mentioned  too,  which  made  an  impression  on 
the  mind  of  the  school-boy,  and  it  was  knoVn  all 
about  as  the  "Darby town  Road,"  but  spelled 
Enroughty  road.     Some  of  Fremont's    Dutchmen 


How  a  One-Legged  Rebel  Lives.  73 

might  have  in  an  aged  to  make  "Darby"  out  of  that 
conglomeration  of  letters,  but  "us  boys"  wasn't 
generals  enough  for  that  yet ;  in  point  of  fact 
we  fell  into  line  at  once,  as  full  privates  when  we 
struck  the  "Enroughty-Darbytown  Road,"  and 
obeyed  orders  just  the  same  as  if  we  had  never  held 
birthrights  to  general's  commissions. 

Pawhick  Creek  was  also  a  very  interesting  posi- 
tion to  us,  about  the  27th  of  June,  for  behind  it, 
beyond  the  New  Bridge  Road,  we  found  the 
skillfully  constructed  fortifications  which,  with  their 
massive  banks  of  earth,  protected  McClellan's  men 
at  the  now  doubly  famous  Cold  Harbour. 

In  moving  down  from  Mechanicsville  to  the  York 
River  Railroad  we  came  to  another  of  those  slug- 
gard streams,  known  as  Tottapotamoi  Creek,  the 
bridge  over  which  was  burning,  and  we  heard  the 
enemy's  axes  chopping  rapidly  in  the  woods  beyond, 
felling  trees  to  obstruct  our  march,  and  making  an 
almost  solid  barricade,  but  General  Hood  put 
Riley's  battery  in  position,  and  a  few  shells  broke 
up  the  chopping  so  quick  that  when  we  again 
moved  forward  we  found  the  axes  sticking  in  the 
trees,  but  the  choppers  had  disappeared.  That  day 
was  as  near  perfect  as  it  could  be ;  air  balmy,  sky 
bright  and  cloudless,  and  nature  doing  her  full 
share  to  make  the  "Old  Virginia  low  lands  low," 
looked    decent,   but  we  had  not  come  down  here 


74  How  a  One-Legged  Rebel  Lives. 

to  enjoy  the  scenery  of  nature  nor  gather  the 
delicious  blackberries  that  lined  the  swamps  and 
fields. 

Just  here  I  will  introduce  another  extract  from 
Gen.  "Dick"  Taylor,  most  astonishing  I  admit; 
and  yet,  from  the  high  character  of  the  evidence, 
not  to  be  set  aside  without  thought,  but  I  must  say 
that  I  have  never,  in  all  my  reading  of  the  history 
of  the  war,  met  anything  like  it : 

uAt  the  beginning  of  operations  in  the  Rich- 
mond campaign  Lee  had  75,000  and  McClelland 
100,000,  in  round  numbers — these  figures  taken 
from  official  sources.  A  high  opinion  has  been 
expressed  of  the  strategy  of  Lee,  by  which  Jack- 
son's forces  were  suddenly  thrust  between  McDow- 
ell and  McClellan's  right,  and  it  deserves  all  praise; 
but  the  tactics  on  the  field  were  vastly  inferior  in 
the  strategy.  Indeed,  it  may  be  confidently  asserted 
that  from  Cold  Harbour  to  Malvern  Hill,  inclusive, 
there  was  nothing  but  a  series  of  blunders,  one 
after  another,  and  all  huge.  The  confederate  com- 
manders knew  no  more  about  the  topography  of 
the  country  than  they  did  about  Central  Africa. 
Here  was  a  limited  district,  the  whole  of  it  within 
a  day's  march  of  Richmond,  the  Capital  of  Vir- 
ginia and  the  Confederacy,  almost  the  first  spot  on 
the  continent  occupied  by  the  English  people  *  *  * 
and  yet  we  were  profoundly  ignorant  of  the  country, 


How  a  One-Legged  Rebel  Lives.  75 

were  without  maps  or  guides,  and  nearly  as  help- 
less as  if  we  had  been  suddenly  transferred  to  the 
banks  of  the  Lualaba.  The  day  before  the  battle 
of  Malvern  Hill  President  Davis  could  not  find  a 
guide  with  sufficient  intelligence  to  conduct  him 
from,  one  of  our  columes  to  another.  *  *  *  For 
two  days  we  lost  McClellan's  great  army  in  a  few 
miles  of  woodland,  and  never  had  any  definite 
knowledge  of  its  movements.  *  *  *  When  it  is 
remembered  that  General  McClellan's  first  opera- 
tions in  the  Peninsula  indicated  the  line  of  the 
Chicahominy  as  to  the  most  probable,  for  the 
defence  of  Richmond,  the  Confederate  cammander 
up  to  the  battle  of  Seven  Pines,  General  Johnson, 
had  been  a  topographical  engineer  in  the  United 
States  army,  while  his  successor  General  Lee,  also 
an  engineer,  had  been  on  duty  at  the  War  Office  in 
Richmond,  and  in  constant  intercourse  with  Presi- 
dent Davis,  who  was  educated  at  West  Point  and 
served  seven  years  *  *  *  everyone  must  agree  that 
our  ignorance,  in  a  military  sense,  of  the  battle- 
ground was  simply  amazing.  *  *  *  General  Mc- 
Clellan  was  as  superior  to  us  in  knowledge  of  our 
own  land  as  were  the  Generals  to  the  French  in 
their  war  of  1870.  *  *  *  And  so  we  blundered  on 
like  people  trying  to  read  without  knowledge  of 
their  letters." 

I  am  not  conceited  enough  to  give  any  opinion 


76  How  a  One-Legged  Rebel  Lives. 

of  my  own  upon  this  subject  even  if  I  had  one,  but 
reading  what  General  Taylor  has  written,  and 
reflecting  upon  it,  calls  to  mind  much  that  was 
nearly  forgotten,  and  my  revived  memory  can  only 
account  for  many  things  that  I  saw  in  the  military 
operations  of  the  "Seven  Days"  by  taking  what  he 
says  as  true.  I  know  we  had  no  pillow  of  clowd  by 
day  or  of  fire  by  night  to  lead  us,  but  we  also  know 
that  General  McClellan  moved  his  army  and  trains 
by  one  single  road  after  he  commenced  his  retreat 
to  the  James,  and  only  through  ignorance  some- 
where on  our  part  could  he  have  accomplished  it 
as  successfully  as  he  did.  That  General  Lee  had 
beat  him  in  strategy,  and  "wore  out"  his  grand 
army  with  three  men  to  his  four  is  true,  and  that 
McClellan  had  previously  determined,  after  Jack- 
son's Valley  campaign  had  locked  up  all  his  hoped- 
for  re-enforcements,  to  change  his  base  to  the  James 
River  is  also  true,  but  that  he  was  forced  by  inexo- 
rable fate,  in  the  person  of  Lee,  to  make  that 
change  under  pressure  and  before  he  was  ready  is 
as  true  as  any  of  it.  And  he  was  compelled  to 
face  his  fate  as  best  he  could,  but  in  doing  it  his 
army  was  ruined  and  the  star  of  the  "Young 
Napoleon"  went  down  in  blood  among  the  Chica- 
ne miny  swamps  as  the  "Great"  Napoleon's  had 
done  fifty  years  before  amid  the  snows  of  Russia 
and  the  flames  of  Moscow. 


How  a  One- Legged  Rebel  Lives.  77 

The  result  had  proved  General  Lee  to  be  one  of 
the  greatest  soldiers  of  history,  and  his  throne  in 
the  hearts  of  .his  soldiers  was  thenceforward  secure, 
but  we  do  not  want  to  lose  sight  of  his  admirable 
Lieutenants: — Longstreet,  the  "War  Horse,"  as 
General  Lee  called  him,  could  always  be  relied  on 
to  hold  the  centre,  where  the  hardest  blows  were 
given  ;  and  A.  P.  Hill,  the  dashing,  chivalric,  head- 
long commander  of  the  "Light  Division,"  who 
always  in  feeble  health,  was  never  sick  on  battle 
days  ;  Ewell,  the  blunt  and  fierce  bulldog  soldier, 
confided  in  by  Jackson  ;  Magruder,  the  boiling, 
tempestous,  enterprising  leader ;  Hood  the  giant 
Texan,  daiing  and  indomitable,  "bravest  of  the 
brave;"  Stuart,  the  prince  of  cavalrymen,  chival- 
rous as  a  knight  of  the  Round  Table  ;  and  all  the 
way  down  the  line,  generals  of  divisions  and  brig- 
ades, colonels  of  regiments,  commanders  of  squad- 
rons and  battalions,  captains  of  companies,  all 
co-operated  with  the  troops  ;  and  the  private  soldier, 
"the  true  hero  of  the  war,"  without  the  incentive 
or  motive  which  controls  the  officer,  who  hopes  to 
live  in  history  ;  without  hope  of  reward,  actuated 
only  by  duty  and  patriotism,  he  claimed  the  cause 
as  his  own,  and  went  into  the  war  to  "conquer  or 
die,"  to  be  free  or  not  to  be  at  all. 

History  will  yet  award  the  chief  glory  where  it 
belongs — to  the  private  soldier.     All  these  joined 


78  How  a  One-Legged  Rebel  Lives. 

and  executed  the  plans  of  General  Lee,  which 
resulted  in  throwing  General  McClellan's  magnifi- 
cent army  back  from  the  gates  of  the  Southern 
capital,  to  tremble  and  cower  beneath  the  guns  of 
their  fleet  at  Harrison's  Landing,  and  the  long 
agony  was  over.  But  we  had  met  soldiers  who 
"fought  like  brave  men,  long  and  well,"  and  their 
army  was  not  routed,  though  defeated. 

We  had  worn  many  trophies  from  our  foes ;  em- 
bracing fifty  pieces  of  artillery,  many  thousands  of 
small  arms,  millions  of  dollars  worth  of  property, 
and  thousands  of  prisoners  ;  but  the  supreme  result 
was  the  deliverance  of  the  city  of  Richmond. 

It  had  cost  us  a  heavy  price  to  do  this,  and  Jack- 
son's men  had  poured  out  precious  blood  in  the 
lowlands,  as  they  had  other  precious  blood  in  the 
Valley  and  among  the  Alleghanies. 

Many  of  our  gallant  comrades  slept  their  last 
sleep  beneath  the  slopes  of  Hanover,  in  the  gloomy 
swamps  of  the  Chickahominy,  and  under  the  sigh- 
ing pines  of  New  Kent  and  Charles  City. 

"  Lowly  they  lie,  forms  of  spirits  departed  ; 
Lie,  where  in  battle  they  struggled  and  fell, 
Unknelt  by  their  graves,  by  the  'reft,  broken-hearted. 
No  marble  enduring  their  noble  deeds  tell.'' 


How  a  One-Legged  Rebel  Lives.  79 

CHAPTER  VII. 

I  am  no  statesman,  nor  do  I  wish  to  be  considered 
one,  but  I  think  I  represent  the  rank  and  file  of  the 
Southern  Army,  and  will  try,  roughly  to  tell  what 
the  private  soldiers  thought  about  the  war,  after  a 
year's  experience.  We  had  our  own  ideas  as  to  what 
it  was  for,  and  I  know  that  the  maintenance,  or  per- 
petuation of  African  slavery  had  no  part  in  the 
motives  which  impelled  us  to  endure  the  privations 
of  the  camp,  the  march,  and  all  the  tribulations 
which  a  state  of  war  brought  to  us,  including  the 
danger  and  death  of  the  battlefield.  We  did  not 
think  of  slavery  at  all  in  connection  with  the  war. 
Many  of  us  did  not  think  there  was  sufficient  reason 
for  the  war  anyway,  and  like  our  old  commander, 
General  J.  A.  Early,  opposed  sesession  as  much,  and 
as  far  as  we  could,  but  we  were  citizens  of  Virginia  ; 
we,  who  could,  had  voted  for  delegates  to  the  State 
Convention  with  an  honest  determination — as  good 
citizens — to  abide  by  the  result  of  their  action.  We 
believe  the  Federal  Government  was  a  creature 
of  the  States,  ordained  for  the  general  good 
of  all,  but  we  felt  that  we  owed  paramount 
allegiance  to  Old  Virginia,  and  when  our  State  Con- 
vention, honestly  and  fairly  elected,  decided  to 
withdraw  the  State  from  the  Union,  and  there  ac- 
tion was  endorsed  by  an  overwhelming  majority  of 
our  people,    we  would   have  held  ourselves  to  be 


80  How  a  One-Legged  Rebel  Lives. 

traitors,  ungreatful  dogs,  and  death-deserving  rebels, 
if  we  had  failed  to  enlist  under  her  "Sic  Semper 
Tyrannis"  banner. 

We  couldn't  fight  the  Union  and  the  State  both, 
nor  could  we  sit  still  and  allow  the  Federal  Govern- 
ment to  the  throttle,  stifle  and  crush  our  proud  old 
Commonwealth,  for  doing  that  which  we  believed 
she  had  a  perfect  righ  to  do,  viz  :  resume  all  the 
rights  and  powers  which  she  had  delegated  to  the 
Federal  Government.  There  had  been  no  coercion 
used  to  compel  her  to  enter  the  Union  which,  through 
her  distinguished  cons,  she  had  been  one  of  the 
foremost  to  promote,  nor  did  we  believe  that  our 
old-time  fathers  had  knowingly  bound  her  to  a  hate- 
ful partnership  with  a  section  bent  on  her  ruin,  by 
a  tie  which  she  had  no  right  or  power  to  sever. 

We  belonged  first  of  all  to  Virginia,  the  blood  of 
whose  sons  had  at  times  been  shed  from  Quebec 
to  Boston,  from  Boston  to  Savannah,  for  the  liberty 
we  enjoyed,  and  now  where  she  required  our  services 
we,  as  loyal  children,  dared  to  go.  And  I  know  that 
for  the  first  two  years  of  the  war  slavery  and  its 
abolition  did  not  draw  the  young  men  of  the  West 
into  the  Northern  army,  for  I  talked  with  many  of 
them  whom  the  fortune  of  war  had  made  our  pris- 
oners, and  without  exception  they  declared  they 
were  fighting  for  the  Union  and  the  old  Constitu- 
tion, not  to  free  the  negro,  who,   they  said,  ought 


How  a  One-Legged  Rebel  Lives.  81 

not  to  be  free  among  the  white  people.  Nor  do  I 
believe  that  Abraham  Lincoln  went  into  the  war  to 
free  the  slaves,  at  least  he  said  he  did  not,  and  I 
believe  he  was  honest,  and  am  satisfied  that  if  the 
South  had  surrendered  any  time  during  the  first  or 
second  year  of  the  war  slavery  would  not  have  been 
abolished.  The  restoration  of  the  old  Union,  under 
the  old  Constitution,  would  have  left  slavery  intact,  , 
and  in  order  to  accomplish  its  entire  removal  it  was 
necessary  to  establish  a  new  covenant  and  new  laws, 
which  was  ultimately  done,  but  for  four  years  we 
were  the  true  defenders  of  the  principles  of  the  Con- 
stitution as  it  was,  and  if  the  States  of  the  South 
had  been  guided  by  the  counsels  of  that  noble  old 
Virginian,  Henry  A.  Wise,  and  instead  of  secession 
had  held  on  to  the  old  flag,  the  equal  rights  of  all 
the  States,  in  the  territories  and  elsewhere,  would 
have  been  maintained,  and  the  other  fellows  who 
equipped  and  sent  forth  John  Brown  on  his  mission 
of  destiuction  would  have  been  the  rebels  in  the 
"irrepressible  conflict." 

But  the  hand  of  the  God  of  Israel  was  in  it,  and 
he  led  us  by  a  way  that  we  knew  not,  through  the 
flood  and  the  fire,  to  the  positive  and  emphatic 
removal  of  the  disturbing  elements  which  did  so 
torment  and  distract  us,  and  made  the  American 
Union  of  to-day — what  it  never  was  and  never  could 
be  under  the  original  confederation — a  nation! 


82  How  a  One-Legged  Rebel  Lives. 

And  now  I  know  you  will  say  I  am  wandering 
from  my  story,  but  before  I  return  to  "Stonewall," 
I  will  tell  you  of  the  famous  "Louisiana  Tigers, " 
whose  gallant  commander,  Major  Wheat,  was  killed 
on  the  27th  of  June  in  the  hottest  of  the  fight  at 
Cold  Harbor.  Nearly  every  account  of  the  war 
which  I  have  lead  by  Northern  writers  gives  great 
prominence  in  every  battle  to  the  "Tigers,"  and  I 
am  of  the  opinion  that  every  soldier  in  the  Union 
Army  actually  thought  he  fought  the  "Tigers."  I 
cannot  estimate  the  number  they  must  originally 
have  mustered,  according  to  the  amount  of  fighting 
they  are  represented  by  the  boys  in  blue  to  have 
done,  but  there  was  certainly  more  than  a  million 
of  them,  or  they  wouldn't  "go  around."  It  is 
something  like  the  Yankee  boys  at  Gettysburg, 
where  every  mother's  son  of  them  fought  and  slew 
the  men  of  "Pickett's  Division,"  and  also  a  little 
like  the  "Gray  Jackets"  who  are  fond  of  detailing 
desperate  combats  with  the  "Pennsylvania  Buck- 
tails."  Nearly  every  regiment  in  Lee's  army  has, 
on  one  or  more  occasions,  "locked  horns"  with  the 
"Bucktails."  It  is  unquestionably  a  compliment 
to  the  "Tigers,"  to  "Pickett's  Division,"  and  to 
the  "Bucktails,"  to  be  selected  as  special  antago- 
nists by  men  who  were  hunting  "foemen  worthy 
of  the  steel,"  but  it  is  a  fact  that  "Pickett's  Divis- 
ion" at  Gettysburg  did  not  number  5,000,  and  on 


How  a  One-Legged  Rebel  Lives.  83 

\ 

the  authority  of  General  "Dick"   Taylor,  who  was 

their  brigade  commander  as  long  as  they  had  an 

organization,    I  will   now   tell  who   and  what   the 

*  'Tigers' '  were  : 

Before  the  first  battle  of  Manassas  there  were 
some  three  companies  from  Louisiana  unattached  to 
regiments  that  were  thrown  together  as  a  battalion. 
The  strongest  of  the  three,  and  giving  character  to' 
all,  was  called  the  "Tigers,"  and  was  recruited  on 
the  levees  and  in  the  alleys  of  New  Orleans,  and 
might  have  come  out  of  "Alsatia,"  where  they 
would  have  been  most  worthy  subjects  of  "Duke 
Hildebrod."  This  company  was  raised  and  com- 
manded by  Wheat  himself  in  the  beginning,  but  on 
the  formation  of  the  battalion  and  his  promotion  to 
Major  it  was  under  Captain  White,  a  man  of  many 
aliases  and  unsavory  character,  and  so  villainous 
was  the  reputation  of  this  battalion  that  no  briga- 
dier desired  the  honor  of  commanding  it,  but  by 
hard  discipline  and  some  executions  by  sentence  by 
court-marshal,  General  "Dick"  got  them  in  some 
sort  of  subjection,  but  he  says  they  always  would 
plunder  in  spite  of  his  orders,  unless  he  was  with 
them  in  person,  at  every  battle.  His  account  of 
them  the  24th  of  May,  1862,  when  with  Jackson  at 
Front  Royal,  reads  like  this : 

"In  the  morning  Jackson  led  the  way  ;  my  brig- 
ade, a  small  body  of  cavalry,  and  a  section  of  the 


§4  How  a  One- Legged  Rebel  Lives. 

Rock -bridge  battery  formed  the  column.  Major 
Wheat,  with  his  battalion  of  "Tigers,"  was  directed 
to  keep  close  to  the  guns.  Sturdy  marchers,  they 
trotted  along  with  the  cavalry  and  artillery  at  Jack- 
son's heels,  and  after  several  hours  were  some  distance 
in  advance  of  the  brigade,  with  which  I  remained. 
A  volley  in  front  stirred  us  up  to  a  "double,"  and 
we  speedily  came  upon  a  moving  spectacle.  Jack- 
son had  struck  the  Valley  pike  at  Middletown,  along 
with  a  large  body  of  Federal  cavalry,  with  many 
wagons,  and  hastening  North.  He  had  attacked 
at  once  with  his  handful  of  men,  and  overwhelming 
resistence,  had  captured  prisoners  and  wagons.  The 
gentle  'Tigers'  were  looting  quite  merrily,  diving 
in  and  out  of  wagons  with  the  activity  of  rabbits 
in  a  warren;  but  this  occupation  was  abandoned  on 
my  approach,  and  in  a  moment  they  were  in  line, 
looking  as  solemn  and  virtuous  as  deacons  at  a 
funeral. " 

The  redoubtable  Major  Bob  Wheat  was  always  a 
character  in  war,  if  there  was  any  war  anywhere. 
The  son  of  an  Episcopalian  clergyman,  he  ran  off 
from  school  and  followed  General  Zachary  Taylor 
through  the  the  battles  of  Palo  Alto,  Resaca  de  la 
Palma,  and  Monteray,  until  he  was  badly  wounded. 
After  the  Mexican  war  he  went  with  Lopez  to 
Cuba,  where  he  was  wounded  in  a  desperate  fight 
with  the  Spanish  troops  and  captured,  but  his  guar- 


How  a  One-Legged  Rebel  Lives.  85 

dian  angel  saved  him,  somehow,  from  the  garrote, 
which  crushed  the  necks  of  all  his  comrades  in  this 
reckless  enterprise,  and  he  escaped  to  follow  Gen- 
eral Walker,  the  ugray-eyed  man  of  destiny,"  in 
his  fillibuster  expedition  to  Nicaragua,  where  the 
incapacity  of  the  South  American  patriots  so  dis- 
gusted him  that  he  left  them  to  their  vacillations, 
and  crossed  the  Atlantic,  he  joined  Garibaldi,  in 
Italy,  in  whose  army  of  ragamuffins  he  did  noble 
service  in  the  cause  of  liberty  ;  but  his  keen  scent 
of  war  brought  him  home  to  America,  early  in  1861, 
in  time  to  catch  a  bullet  at  first  Manassas.  At  Har- 
risonburg, Va.,  on  the  5th  of  June,  1862,  where 
General  Ashby  was  killed  ;  and  one  of  the  last  dashes 
he  made,  with  his  famous  cavelry,  was  to  capture 
Colonel  Sir  Percy  Wyndham,  of  Fremont's  cavalry  ; 
Colonel  Wyndham  was  brought  to  the  rear  a  pris- 
oner. No  one  knew  him,  but  the  troops  jeered  at 
him,  some  as  the  big  "Yankee  Colonel,1'  and  the 
Colonel,  being  an  English  man,  hated  the  name  of 
Yankee  worse  than  anything  else,  which  caused  a 
fearful  scowl  to  settle  on  his  features.  As  soon  as 
Wheat  laid  eyes  on  him,  he  sprang  from  his  horse 
with  a  glad  cry  of,  "Why,  Percy  !  old  boy  !  where 
did  you  come  from?"  at  the  same  time  throwing 
his  arms  around  the  Colonel's  neck  ;  and  Wynd- 
ham, with  a  responsive  thrill,  exclaimed,  as  he 
returned  the  embrace  of  his  old-time  mess-mate  in 


86  How  a  One- Legged  Rebel  Lives. 

the  Garabaldi  wars:  "Why,  Bob!  God  bless  you  ; 
is  this  you  ?' '  Nobody  applied  the  insulting  epithet 
of  Yankee  to  Colonel  Wyndham  again,  while  Major 
Wheat  was  about. 

The  gallant  Bob  Wheat  met  his  death  as  before 
stated,  in  the  battle  of  Cold  Harbour,  just  at  sunset, 
and  the  last  words  from  his  lips  were,  "boys,  we've 
won  the  fight,  bury  me  on  the  field  !" 

With  Major  Wheat  gone  no  one  could  hold  his 
men  together,  and  the  Louisiana  Tigers,  in  fact, 
ceased  to  exist,  but  the  Northern  soldiers  in  fancy, 
continued  to  fight  the  Tigers  for  two  years  more. 

We  will  now  return  to  "Stonewall"  near  Rich- 
mond, his  army  merged  into  the  A.  N.  V.,  waiting 
for  McClellan  to  get  reinforcements  and  rest  up  his 
Army  of  the  Potomac  for  another  movement  against 
our  modern  Rome,  the  seven-hilled  city  on  the 
James. 

About  the  time  we  began  to  tremble  for  our 
cause,  in  consequence  of  the  fearful  disasters  about 
to  be  brought  upon  this  devoted  army  of  martyrs  by 
the  Pope.  Not  the  gentle  Roman  pontiff,  Pius  IX, 
but  a  greater  than  all  pontiffs  combined,  to-wit : 
Major-General  John  Pope,  U.  S.  A.,  commanding 
the  ' 'Army  of  Virginia. ' '  This  most  wonderful,  all 
conquering,  and  invincible  commander,  had  come, 
as  he  informed  us  in  general  orders,  from  the  West, 
where  he  had  never  seen  any  more  of  his  enemies 


How  a  One-Legged  Rebel  Lives.  87 

than  their  backs,  and  the  common  idea  of  his  own 
folks  was  that  the  spirit  of  Julius  Caesar  :  veni,  vidi, 
vici,  and  all,  had  been  again  incarcerated  in  John 
Pope,  Major -General.  It  was,  moreover,  matter  of 
scientific  knowledge  to  the  most  eminent  astrologers, 
that  the  planets,  Jupiter  and  Mars,  were  in  con- 
junction at  the  precise  moment  of  his  birth.  The 
regular  astronomer  of  his  native  town  had  requested 
that  he  be  christened  "Jupiter  Mars"  Pope,  which 
would  have  looked  remarkably  well  at  the  foot  of  a 
general  order  issued  from  "Headquarters  in  the 
saddle,"  but  his  parents  were  afraid  to  risk  it.  Still, 
the  more  orderly  name  of  "John,"  with  which  he 
was  invested,  did  not  prevent  his  development  into 
a  mighty  man  for  thunder.  No  question  as  to  the 
location  of  his  "headquarters"  could  ever  arise,  for 
he  tells  us  himself  that  they  are  "in  the  saddle;" 
an  eminently  proper  location  for  the  headquarters 
oi  a  commanding  general  of  the  army  for  the  reason, 
that  in  the  event  of  small  parties  of  the  enemy's 
cavalry  demonstrating  in  the  neighborhood,  the 
headquarters  can  be  moved  with  promptness  and 
facility. 

The  portions  of  the  general  orders  which  caused 
us  most  concern  were  those  bearing  directly  upon 
our  own  conduct,  as  Rebels,  because  he  fulminated 
so  fiercely  against  stray  rebels  committing  "overt 
acts  of  war"  upon  any,   or  sundry   sutler  wagons. 


88  How  a  One-Legged' Rebel  Lives. 

horses,  or  what  not ;  and  in  case  we  should  in  any- 
wise be  thus  guilty  of  depredations,  in  the  limits  of 
his  department,  no  less  than  five  Southern  citizens 
were  to  be  held  accountable,  in  each  instance  in 
their  persons,  goods,  and  chattels.  He  was  partic- 
ularly severe  upon  the  citizens  in  the  matter  of 
"over  acts  of  war"  committed  by  Rebel  soldiers, 
and  we  grew  very  uneasy,  lest  Jackson,  or  Ewell, 
or  somebody,  might  lead  us  into  some  indiscretion 
with  the  "Major-General  commanding  Army  of 
Virginia,"  might  construe  into  an  "overt  act,"  etc. 
We  had  been  watching  "Stonewall"  pretty  closely, 
and  noticing  that  he  did  not  read  the  papers  of  the 
day,  we  feared  he  might,  through  ignorance  of  the 
General's  general  order,  do  something  we  should  all 
regret,  as  being  distasteful  to  Major-General  Pope. 
Another  clause  of  "general  orders"  also  gave  us 
great  uneasiness,  and  we  were  glad  that  Jackson  did 
not  read  the  papers,  when  this  came  to  our  knowl- 
edge, but  self-respect  required,  as  we  thought,  some 
action  in  regard  to  it  at  our  hands.  The  Major- 
General,  in  this  clause,  applied  some  very  ugly 
names  to  us — in  fact — he  called  us  "disaster  and 
shame,"  and  we  knew  he  had  particular  reference 
to  Jackson's  men,  for  his  language  was,  that  "dis- 
aster and  shame,"  as  aforesaid,  "lurked  in  the  rear;" 
and  it  was  generally  known  that  "Stonewall"  was 
a  bad  man  for  lurking  in  the  rear  ;  but  we  had  never 


How  a  One-Legged  Rebel  Lives.  89 

had  such  epithets  applied  to  us  before,  by  any  of 
the  commanding  generals,  not  even  Banks.  We 
consulted  and  took  counsel  together — we  generals 
of  the  rank  and  file — but  we  couldn't  exactly 
determine  what  to  do  about  it ;  whether  to  write  to 
Major-General  Pope  asking  him  to  modify  his  severe 
language,*  or  to  disband  and  go  to  Texas,  singly  or 
in  pairs,  as  would  be  most  expedient.  We  remained 
in  this  state  of  doubt  and  uncertainty,  not  unmixed 
with  dread  until  the  19th  of  July,  1862,  when 
"Stonewall"  roused  up,  shook  his  mane,  growled 
a  little,  and  started  towards  Gordonsville.  We  did 
all  we  could  to  persuade  him  against  "lurking," 
but  we  went  along,  for  we  couldn't  think  of  per- 
mitting him  to  get  out  of  our  sight,  for  fear  he 
might  do  some  "overt  act,"  and  about  this  time  we 
got  some  more  news  from  General  Pope  which  ren- 
dered it  doubly  important  for  us  to  keep  an  eye 
pretty  closely  on  Jackson.  The  "Major-General 
commanding,"  had  been  before  the  congressional 
committe  on  the  conduct  of  the  war,  and  had  there 
declared  that,  "with  such  an  army  as  McClellan 
had  in  March,  1862,  he  would  engage  to  sweep  the 
country  from  Washington  to  New  Orleans,"  and 
we  estimated  that  if  the  United  States  Government 
should  give  him  such  a  one  we  would  hardly  be 
safe  in  Texas. 

When  we  reached  Gordonsville  it  became  neces- 


90  How  a  One-Legged  Rebel  Lives. 

sary  to  learn  positively  the  whereabouts  of  the 
"Ajrmy  of  Virginia,"  and  it  was  not  very  long  until 
we  had  it  located.  We  found  it  particularly  active 
in  Madison  and  Orange  counties,  engaged  in  heavy 
forays  on  citizens  and  their  property  of  every  descrip- 
tion, and  when  Major-General  Pope  had  swept  the 
country  to  the  Rapidan  the  most  noticeable  result 
of  his  victorious  march  was  the  complete  stamping 
out,  in  the  mids  of  the  inhabitants  ol  the  conquered 
territory,  of  the  heresy  of  secession.  One  of  his  staff 
officers  reports  stopping  at  a  house  in  Culpeper 
where  the  family  was  just  sitting  down  to  dinner, 
and  in  fifteen  minutes  the  soldiers  had  not  only 
swallowed  the  dinner  but  had  swept  up  and  carried 
away  everything  portable  or  eatable,  live-stock  and 
all,  indoors  and  out,  and  a  little  son  of  the  propri- 
etor said  to  his  staff  officer,  "Pap  says  he  wouldn't 
vote  the  secession  ticket  again  if  he  had  the 
chance,"  which,  the  officer  said,  was  extremely 
gratifying  to  him. 

The  reconversion  of  the  territory  from  treasonable 
proclivities  to  loyality  was,  of  course,  equal  in  extent 
to  the  spread  of  the  wings  of  his  army — which  was 
from  the  Blue  Ridge  to  the  junction  of  the  rivers 
Rapidan  and  Rappahannock,  and  it  was  only  neces- 
sary to  continue  the  movement  to  the  Gulf  of  Mex- 
ico in  order  to  competely  restore  the  love  of  the 
Union  in  the  hearts  of  all  the  people.     A  Northern 


How  a  Gne- Legged  Rebel  Lives.  91 

correspondent  who  accompanied  the  army  wrote : 
"The  land  was  green  when  they  came,  but  they 
left  a  desert  behind  them  ;"  and  General  Pope,  to 
more  fully  establish  loyality  in  his  department, 
issued  what  he  called  his  expatation  order,  which 
required  that  "all  male  citizens  disloyal  to  the 
United  States  should  be  immediately  arrested,  the 
oath  of  allegiance  proffered  them,  and  if  they  took 
it  and  furnished  sufficient  security  for  its  observance, 
they  should  be  released.  If  they  declined  taking  it 
they  should  be  sent  beyond  the  extreme  Federal 
pickets,  and  found  again  within  his  lines  should  be 
treated  as  spies  and  shot."  Another  order  had  a 
very  salutary  effect  on  the  home  folks,  which  was, 
that  "the  prominent  citizens  of  the  district  should 
be  arrested  and  detained  as  hostages  for  the  good 
behavior  of  the  inhabitants,  and  made  to  suffer  in 
their  persons  for  the  acts  of  partisans  and  bush- 
whackers." If  any  of  the  Federal  troops  were 
"bushwhacked,"  one  of  the  hostages  should  suffer 
death. 

All  this  and  much  more  us  generals  had  on  our 
minds  to  distract  us,  and  it  made  us  anxious  to  pre- 
vant  General  Jackson  from  committing  depredations 
on  the  army  lines  of  General  Pope,  so  that  we  lost 
a  good  deal  of  sleep  watching  him.  We  kept  all 
such  information  from  him  as  much  as  possible, 
knowing,gfrom  the  nature  of  the  man,  that  if  he 


92  How  a  One- Legged  Rebel  Lives. 

should  get  full  accounts  of  Pope's  proceedings  it 
would  excite  him,  and  perhaps  cause  him  to  com- 
mit some  "overt  act."  However,  some  indiscreet 
person  gave  him  a  newspaper  one  day,  and  then  the 
"fat  was  in  the  fire,"  and  we  gave  up  the  idea  of 
being  generals  any  more  until  somebody  should  get 
"wore  out." 

Jackson  crossed  the  Rapidan  at  Barnett's  Ford  on 
the  8th  of  August,  and  marched  us  steadily  forward 
towards  Culpeper  Courthouse,  right  into  the  jaws  of 
destruction  "us  boys"  thought,  The  next  day  we 
reached  Cedar  Run,  eight  miles  from  the  Court- 
house, and  right  rTere  we  came  square  up  against 
the  centre  of  Major-General  Pope's  army.  How  I 
wish  he  had  been  named  "Jupiter  Mars"  for  plain 
"John"  seems  too  plain  and  simple  and  naked  to 
clothe  the  Julius  Caesar  of  North  America.  Any- 
how, "Stonewall"  drove  his  wedges  right  into  the 
centre  of  the  "Army  of  Virginia,"  which  here  con- 
sisted of  32,000  men,  according  to  official  reports  of 
Major-General  J.  Pope,  but  we  soon  learned  from 
prisoners  that  General  Banks  was  in  command  here, 
and  the  horizon  began  to  clear,  for  we  knew  if  that 
was  the  case  that  we  wouldn't  go  to  Texas,  yet 
awhile.  We  didn't  believe  General  Banks  could 
drive  Jackson  out  of  Culpeper  if  Pope  would  give 
him  the  job. 

We  got  to  business  on  the  9th,  about  the  middle 


How  a  One- Legged  Rebel  Lives.  93 

of  the  afternoon,  and  after  considerable  skirmishing 
and  cannon-firing  General  Early  moved  his  brigade 
along  the  Culpeper  road,  drove  the  enemy's  cavalry 
before  him,  and  pushed  his  line  to  the  crest  of  a  hill, 
but  the  Federal  batteries  opened  such  a  furious  can- 
noned upon  the  hill  that  he  withdrew  his  troops 
below  the  crest  and  hurried  up  his  own  batteries  to 
reply.  A  large  body  of  cavalry  appeared  on  our 
left  flank,  and  we  fixed  ourselves  to  attend  to  them, 
but  Captains  Brown  and  Dement  opened  on  them 
with  their  batteries  which  settled  that  matter  pretty 
soon.  While  all  this  was  going  on,  General 
Winder,  with  Jackson's  old  division,  moved  upon 
our  left,  aud  a  column  of  Federals  made  a  drive 
straight  at  our  batteries,  but  General  Early  put  his 
whole  line  forward,  and  the  battle  was  joined  along 
our  entire  front,  and  raged  furiously  till  night. 

Jackson's  army  was  composed  of  his  own  division, 
commanded  by  Winder ;  Ewell's  division,  and  part 
of  A.  P.  Hill's.  General  Thomas'  brigade,  of  Hill's 
came  to  General  Early's  support  just  when  he 
needed  help ;  and  we  succeeded  in  driving  them  to 
the  woods,  where  they  held  on  for  awhile,  but  finally 
a  general  charge  swept  them  through  the  woods 
and  away  towards  the  Court-house.  They  made  a 
last  attempt  to  drive  us  back  with  cavalry,  but  Tal- 
iaferro and  Branch  ruined  them,  and  their  dash- 
ing charge  ended  in  a  rout,  leaving  General  Prince, 


94  How  a  One-Legged  Rebel  Lives. 

their  commander,  a  prisoner.  We  had  223  killed 
and  1,060  wounded.  I  don't  know  the  enemy's 
loss,  but  we  got  over  400  prisoners,  5,300  small 
arms,  one  Napoleon  gun  and  caisson  and  the  cais- 
sons of  two  other  guns.  We  had  given  Major- 
General  J.  Pope's  army  a  trial  and  had  come  out 
"on  top."  Our  infantry  had  beaten  his  fairly  in 
the  open  field,  giving  them  a  choice  of  position,  and 
our  artillery  had  outshot  his. 

It  is  not  hard  for  one  who  is  engaged  in  battle  to 
comprehend  a  written  description  of  it,  but  these 
descriptions  are  not  often  written  by  men  who  were 
actually  engaged  in  the  line  of  battle. 

The  soldier  sees  very  little  of  the  general  engage- 
ment, and  when  he  attempts  to  describe  the  field  he 
does  so  on  other  people's  information,  not  his  own 
knowledge.  A  battlefield,  where  only  five  or  ten 
thousand  troops  are  engaged,  is  a  much  more  exten- 
sive area  than  most  people  suppose,  and  when  large 
bodies  of  soldiers — say  fifty  thousand  on  a  side — 
are  in  it,  a  man  on  a  good  horse  could  hardly  gallop 
from  point  to  point,  over  the  whole  field,  during 
the  continuance  of  the  battle.  The  field  is  large, 
but  each  soldier  only  knows  what  is  being  done  in 
his  own  vicinity,  generally,  the  space  occupied  by 
his  own  company,  and  sometimes  not  that  much. 

When  we  are  preparing  for  the  battle  you  will 
notice  that  the  columns,  which  have  been  moving 


How  a  One- Legged  Rebel  Lives.  95 

steadily  forward  all  day  halt,  and  seem  to  hesitate, 
like  a  swarm  of  bees,  whether  to  light  or  not  ; 
whether  to  go  forward  or  back.  The  men  don't 
ask,  "what's  the  matter,"  for  they  know,  most  of 
them,  exactly  what  it  is,  and  the  old  infantry  soldier 
don't  need  any  body  to  tell  him  when  he  is  on  the 
edge  of  a  battle.  They  notice  that  the  Colonels  are 
talking  with  the  Generals,  and  they  see  officers  and 
couriers  galloping,  some  towards  the  front  and 
others  to  the  rear.  The  infantry  opened  their  col- 
umns, and  the  cavalry,  with  jingling  spurs  and 
clanking  sabres,  trot  forward.  The  ammunition 
wagons  roll  heavily  up,  and  the  ambulances  move 
along;  the  sergeants  chatting  cheerfully  with  each 
other,  and  the  men  are  all  jokey  and  chatty.  There 
is  a  good  deal  of  handling  of  field  glasses  by  the  gen- 
eral officers,  and  the  Colonels  and  Captains  show  a 
good  deal  of  cool,  calm  anxiety  to  have  their  men  well 
in  hand.  No  hurrying  or  confusion  about  it,  not 
so  much  as  if  they  were  going  out  on  a  review,  but 
it  seems  to  do  them  good  to  see  the  boys  cheerful  and 
in  good  heart.  After  awhile  somebody  rides  up  to 
the  quiet  looking  Colonel,  on  the  [gray  horse,  and 
says  a  few  words,  and  he  turns  around  to  the  regi- 
ment, with  a  short,  prompt  manner,  and  says  qui- 
etly, but  clearly  and  sharp:  "Attention^  21st,"  or 
whatever  the  number  may  be — "forward!"  and 
away  goes  the  leading  regiment  to  the  j front.     You 


96  How  a  One- Legged  Rebel  Lives. 

can  see  them  marching  quick  and  strong  in  column, 
for  a  bit,  and  then  you  hear  the  Colonel  say,  "front 
into  line,  march  !"  then  on  they  go,  up  the  hill  to 
the  fence,  which  the  men  jump  over,  and  you  hear 
the  guns — pop  !  pop  !  bang  !  bang  !  the  familiar 
"Rebel  yell"  breaks  fourth,  and  the  firing  grows  in 
volume — quick,  spiteful,  rattling.  You,  perhaps, 
think  this  is  a  battle,  and  I  imagine  it  would  pass 
for  one  in  Revolutionary  times,  but  it  is  only  skir- 
mishers advancing  now,  and  they  trot  along 
cheerfully,  about  ten  or  fifteen  feet  apart,  firing  and 
loading  rapidly,  calling  funny  remarks  to  each 
other,  laughing,  shouting  and  cheering — but  advanc- 
ing. Some  of  them  drop  out  of  the  line  and  limp 
to  the  rear,  some  lay  flat  on  the  ground,  dead  or  too 
badly  hurt  to  travel,  but  the  line  moves  forward  all 
the  same  and  the  vacant  places  are  filled  by  the  men 
moving  over  to  the  right  or  left,  and  presently  they 
reach  the  timber,  where  every  man  posts  himself 
behind  a  tree,  stump,  rock,  anything  that  offers 
shelter ;  and,  in  the  most  deliberate  manner  keep 
up  the  firing,  which  now  changes  its  rattling  tone 
to  something  like  a  roar,  but  it  is  not  a  battle  yet, 
for  our  boys  have  only  driven  the  enemy's  skir- 
mishers back  on  their  line  of  battle,  and  developed 
their  position  ;  and  now  a  battery  gallops  up  and 
hurries  into  position,  unlimbers  the  heavy  trails  and 
the  Captain  commands:  "Commence  firing."    The 


How  a  One- Legged  Rebel  Lives.  97 

artillerymen  step  in  briskly  and  cheerfully,  and  load 
the  pieces,  then  step  aside  ;  a  blaze  of  fire  flies  from 
the  muzzle  of  the  first  gun,  in  a  puff  of  white  smoke, 
and  away  goes  a  howling  shell,  over  the  heads  of 
the  skirmish  line,  to  explode  in  the  enemy's  line, 
and  you  hear  that  yell  again.  Gun  after  gun 
blazes  forth  its  shrieking  shell  with  all  the  rapidity 
possible,  sometimes  so  fast  as  to  fire  three  rounds  a 
minute  from  each  gun,  and  all  the  while  that  skir- 
mish line  is  "pop!  pop!  bang!  banging  away  ?" 
Now  comes  another  movement,  as  the  brigade  forms 
up  in  line  ;  a  thousand,  yes,  two  thousand  ramrods 
rattle  down  into  the  barrels  of  as  many  muskets ! 
then  the  long  drawn  command,  "forward!"  rings 
down  the  line,  and  the  skirmishers  are  relieved,  but 
not  a  minute  too  soon,  for  they  have  been  compelled 
to  lie  down  flat  on  the  ground,  with  their  heads 
against  the  trees  in  front,  unable  either  to  advance 
or  retire  without  meeting  certain  death,  but  when 
their  brigade  comes  up,  they  yell  with  joy,  pride, 
excitement,  jump  to  their  feet  and  charge  right  on 
with  the  "old  brigade  ;"  for  they  are  proud  of  their 
"old  brigade."  It  may  be  known  among  the  line 
as  Early's  or  Taylor's,  or  Winder's,  or  maybe  the 
'Stonewall'  bridge,"  but  those  men  know  it  as  "our 
brigade,"  and  now  you  are  safe  in  reporting  that 
the  battle  has  begun. 

The  sharply  sparkling,  rattling  roar  of  the  rifles 


98  How  a  One-Legged  Rebel  Lives. 

of  the  skirmishers  is  swallowed  up  in  the  rolling, 
booming  thunder  of  the  musketry,  which,  in  tone 
like  a  mighty,  rushing  wind,  rises,  swells,  lulls,  and 
roars  again  along  the  line,  and  now  it  is  that  the 
spectator,  who  is  viewing  the  first  battle,  thinks,  as 
the  smoke-cloud  rolls  up  above  the  trees  and  he 
hears  the  horrible  clashing  volleys  blending  together, 
that  no  man  can  be  left  alive.  It  is  a  busy  time, 
and  the  couriers,  aides  and  staff-officers  gallop  and 
dash  from  place  to  place  on  foaming  steeds,  bearing 
orders  along  the  hotly-contested  line.  Brigades  and 
divisions  wheel  into  position  and  press  forward, 
and  blazing  batteries  crown  every  hill.  The  ammu- 
nition wagons  get  up,  somehow,  in  reach  of  the 
troops,  and  the  light  riding,  empty  ambulances  spin 
.along,  right  up  to  the  line  of  fighting,  soon  to  return, 
•solemnly  moving  to  the  rear  with  their  ghastly 
loads  of  mangled  soldiers,  while  the  shells  and  bul- 
lets fly  about  in  an  indiscriminate,  aimless  sort 
of  way,  anywhere  at  all,  and  are  liable  to  hit  any- 
body at  all.  Now  the  enemy's  batteries  are  in 
position  and  warmed  to  their  work,  and  the  ''sul- 
phurous canopy"  darkens  all  the  field  and  forest  for 
miles,  the  musket-balls  rap  and  whack  on  the  guns 
and  cannon  wheels,  while  occasionally  a  caisson  of 
artillery  amunition  is  blown  up  by  an  exploding 
shell,  and  the  burned  and  mangled  bodies  of  the 
men  near  it  whirl  up  into  the  air.      The  battle  is  in 


How  a  One-Legged  Rebel  Lives.  99 

full  blast  now,  and  the  time  has  come  to  test  the 
metal  and  discipline  of  the  troops,  but  if  "Stone  wall" 
is  on  the  field  we  will  soon  hear  a  roll  of  musketry 
or  crashing  battery  roar  away  off  on  the  flank  or 
rear  of  the  sturdy  fighting  blue  line  in  our  front, 
and  soon  we  see  their  battries  limber  up  hastily  and 
gallop  back  ;  for  the  guns  must  be  saved,  at  all  risk  ; 
then  their  infantry  line  slowly  gives  ground,  and  our 
cannoneers  break  out  in  a  wild  cheer,  which  is 
taken  up  by  the  infantry,  and  the  shout  of  victory 
rings  gloriously,  up  through  the  smoky  pall,  from 
the  thousands  of  throats  that  we  thought  awhile  ago 
were  all  still  in  death.  Aud  here  come  the  cavalry, 
in  columns  and  squadrons,  galloping  after  the  retir- 
ing enemy,  charging  into  their  cavalry  and  light 
batteries,  which  are  covering  the  retreat.  This 
keeps  up  for  long  distances,  generally,  and  we  see 
streams  of  wounded  men,  and  parties  of  dejected 
looking  prisoners  coming  back,  with  perhaps  a  cap- 
tured cannon,  and  wagons  now  and  then,  for  defeat 
and  rout  means  irretrievable  ruin  to  the  army  that 
suffers  it,  if  our  "Stonewall  the  great"  commands 
the  army  that  wins. 

But  this  last  part  is  about  all  the  private  soldier 
sees  of  a  battle.  However,  after  it  is  over,  each 
man  tells  his  neighbor  what  he  saw,  and  by  tomorrow 
each  one  of  us  imagines  he  saw  the  whole  battle, 
for  it  is  a  rare  school  for  the  cultivation  of  imagin- 


100  How  a  One- Legged  Rebel  Lives. 

ation  ;  and  we  tell  the  whole  story — thus  picked  up 
and  patched  together — until  some  oius,  after  a  while, 
swear  to  being  an  eye  witness  to  every  scene  and 
movement  of  that  battle  ;  nor  can  you  blame  us, 
for  it  is  not  every  one  that  can  go  through  a  four- 
year  experience  like  that  and  be  able  to  tell  about 
it  afterwards,  and  the  stirring  times  of  that  ,war 
made  a  deep  impression  on  our  minds,  but  we  old 
veterans  are  growing  old,  our  ranks  are  thinned  and 
thinning,  and  soon  we'll  cross  over  to  camp  with 
the  majority.  To  this  new  man,  who  has  just  got 
a  glimpse  of  his  first  battle,  one  of  the  strangest 
things  is  the  cheerfulness  of  the  soldiers  under  fire, 
and  their  general  jollity  amid  the  hailstorm  of  battle. 
He  wonders  how  that  artilleryman,  at  Gettysburg, 
while  doing  his  duty  at  his  gun  in  the  battery, 
could  sing,  as  he  did — 

"Backward,  turn  backward,  oh,  time  in  thy  flight! 
Make  me  a  child  again,  just  for  this  fight  /" 

or  his  comrade,  near,  respond — "Yes,  and  a  gal 
child  at  that." 

We  have  an  anecdote,  well  vouched  for,  of  a  gal- 
lant sergeant,  in  a  Union  regiment,  in  one  of  the 
Wilderness  battles.  A  Rebel  battery  was  spreading 
havoc  over  the  field  and  the  General  ordered  the 
Colonel  to  take  it.  The  Colonel  turned  to  his  reg- 
ment  and  exclaimed,  "Men,  the  General  says  he 
wants  that  battery.     Can't  we  take  it  for  him?" 


How  a  One- Legged  Rebel  Lives.  101 

This  Sergeant  stuttered,  or  stammered,  some  folks 
call  it:  Said  he,  "S-s-say— Colonel— 1-1-let'st-t-take 
up  a  c-c-collection  and  b-b-buy  the  b-bl-blamed 
thing.  I'll  th-throw  in  my  sh-share,"  but  we  are 
told  that  the  regiment  did  take  the  battery,  and  the 
sergeant  did  his  duty  no  less  manfully  and  bravely, 
for  his  joke. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

Now  I  must  go  back  to  my  hero,  "Stonewall  the 
Great,"  for  he  is  about  to  make  another  "lurking" 
expedition  to  the  "rear"  of  Major-General  John 
Pope,  inasmuch  as  General  I^ee  has  moved  the 
whole  army  up  from  Richmond  and  "us  generals" 
have  determined  to  do  what  we  can  for  the  "Army 
of  Virginia"  before  the  "Army  of  the  Potomac" 
can  reach  it,  for  we  don't  care  to  yoke  up  to  Gen- 
eral McClellan  right  away.  He  gave  us  all  we 
wanted  from  him  in  that  last  interview  at  Malvern 
Hill,  and  we  had  much  rather  fight  the  great  anni- 
hilator,  Major-General  Pope,  now  that  we  have  got 
his  measure,  than  bother  with  "little  Mac."  We 
had  been  loafing  around  in  Orange  county  since 
Cedar  Run  until  July  ist,  when  we  moved  up  to 
Mt.  Pisgah  church.  General  Jackson  now  had 
under  his  command — ist,  Bwell's  division,  com- 
posed of  the  brigade^  of  L,awton,   Early,   Trimble 


102         How  a  One- Legged  Rebel  Lives. 

and  Hayes,  with  the  batteries  of  Brown,  Dement, 
Lattimer,  Balthus  and  D'Aquin  ;  2d,  A.  P.  Hill's 
division,  of  the  brigades  of  Branch,  Gregg,  Field, 
Pender,  Archer  and  Thomas,  and  the  batteries  of 
Braxton,  Latham,  Crenshaw,  Mcintosh,  Davidson 
and  Pegram ;  3d,  Jackson's  old  division,  under 
Brigadier-General  W.  B.  Taliaferro,  with  the  brig- 
ades of  Winder  (Colonel  Baylor);  Campell  (Major 
Seddon);  Taliaferro  (Colonel  A.  G.  Taliaferro);  and 
Starke,  with  the  batteries  -  of  Brockenborough, 
Wooding,  Poague,  Caskie,  Carpenter  and  Raines. 
The  cavalry  of  General  Stuart  was  everywhere, 
front,  flank  and  rear,  and  were  continually  doing 
some  "overt  act  of  war"  to  the  annoyance  and  dis- 
pleasure of  Majoi -General  Pope,  and  right  in  his 
department  too,  where  he  found  himself  utterly 
unable  to  control  the  opperations  of  these  rough- 
riders  by  arresting  and  holding  citizens  responsible 
for  depredations  by  soldiers  against  his  troops  and 
trains. 

Some  Federal  cavalry  played  a  splended  joke  on 
Stuart  himself  by  surprising  him  at  Vidersville  while 
he  was  at  breakfast,  and  causing  him  to  mount  his 
horse  injhaste  and  gallop  off  bare-headed,  while  they 
retired  in  triumph,  carrying  off  his  hat,  cloak  and 
haversack.  It  was  the  first  time  Stuart  was  ever 
"caught  napping,"  and  "his  wreath  had  lost  a  rose," 
but  he  made  it  bloom  again  «a  few  days  after  by  a 


How  a  One- Legged  Rebel  Lives.  103 

gallant  foray  in  Pope's  reai  at  Catlett's  Station, 
where  he  captured  his  headquarter  wagons  with  the 
"great  annihilator's"  money-chest,  dispatch  book, 
and  hat  with  its  ostrich  plume,,  and  Stuart  was 
himself  again. 

I  wish  I  could  drop  the  generalities  of  history 
and  move  along  as  I  should  with  the  "shameless" 
disaster  hunting  gray  jackets  of  "Stonewall,"  but  I 
must  keep. up.  We  moved  on  the  20th  of  August 
from  Mt.  Pisgah,  by  way  of  Somerville  Ford,  to 
Stevensburg,  in  Culpeper,  and  now  we  were  almost 
in  Major-General  Pope's  trap,  for  he  had  said  "pub- 
licly" that  "he  did  not  intend  to  take  any  step 
backward,"  and  if  he  shouldn't,  and  Jackson  kept 
on  advancing,  it  was  very  clear  that  we  would  have 
to  join  Pope  or  break  up  before  belong.  His  columns 
were  very  numerous,  and  his  batteries  crowned  every 
hill  on  the  other  side  of  the  Rappahannock,  but  in 
spite  of  it  all  we  moved  up  to  Beverly's  Ford  on 
the  21st,  and  ail  day  long  the  booming  cannon  and 
bursting  shells  kept  up  the  concert.  On  the  22d 
we  moved  up  the  river,  over  the  Hazel  to  Freeman's 
Ford,  but  this  was  strongly  guarded  too,  so  we 
went  on  to  Warrenton  Springs.  General  Jackson 
had  evidently  been  reading  another  newspaper,  and 
it  looked  to  us  now  as  if  he  was  bent  on  finding  out 
if  Pope  had  any  rear.  General  Early  crossed  the 
river  here  with  his  brigade,   and,  by  the  way,  it  is 


104         How  a  One- Legged  Rebel  Lives. 

a  noticeable  fact  that  both  Lee  and  Jackson  were 
prompt  to  select  our  Brigadier  "Old  Jubilee,"  as 
his  men  called  him,  for  delicate  and  dangerous 
operations  ;  but  the  rains  descended  and  the  floods 
came,  and  it  looked  mighty  dark  for  Early,  with 
only  one  brigade,  in  the  midst  of  the  whole  army 
of  the  "Great  Annihilator,"  and  cut  off  from  all 
help  by  the  foaming,  bankful  Rappahannock,  but 
he  held  out  till  Jackson  got  a  bridge  built,  and  came 
out  of  the  lion's  den,  like  Daniel  of  old,  with  never 
a  scratch  on  him.  General  Lee,  by  aid  of  the  papers 
and  order-book  of  Pope,  brought  in  by  Stuart  when 
he  went  after  his  hat,  now  planned  a  magnificent 
scheme  for  flanking  towards  the  left  and  getting  in 
the  enemy's  rear,  and  of  course  "Stonewall"  must 
lead  the  movement,  and  away  we  went  on  Monday, 
25th  of  August,  through  Amissville,  over  the 
river  at  Hinson's  Ford,  by  Orleans,  in  Fauquier,  to 
Salem,  on  the  M.  G.  R.  R. 

I  have  before  alluded  to  the  reprehensible  prac- 
tice of  deception  by  this  "blue  light"  Presbyterian 
elder,  in  his  military  operations,  but  on  this  occa- 
sion he  out-did  himself,  and  grossly  deceived  John 
Pope — Major-General,  etc. — as  to  his  real  purpose. 
He  gave  out,  incidentally,  that  he  was  moving  to 
the  Valley  ;  and,  to  fix  this  impression  in  the  mind 
of  the  great  commander  of  the  "Army  of  Virginia," 
who  was    "careless  of  lines  of  retreat,"   and  who 


How  a  One-Legged  Rebel  Lives.  105 

"took  no  step  backwards,"  he  sent  out  couriers  with 
curiously  written  dispatches  to  the  effect  that  his 
movement  was  a  Valley  one,  and  actually  caused 
these  couriers  to  take  routes  by  which  he  knew 
some  of  them  would  be  captured,  and  their  papers 
fall  into  the  hands  of  General  Pope,  which  actually 
occurred,  and  by  such  false  pretenses  relieved  that 
great  General's  mind  of  any  further  trouble  in  regard 
to  the  Rebel  column,  which  his  signal  posts  reported 
to  be  moving  towards  the  Blue  Ridge.  It  was  a 
moving  column,  truly,  and  taking  "nigh  cuts," 
across  lots,  we  got  to  Salem  at  midnight,  without 
a  straggler,  and  still  marching.  On  the  26th  we 
walked  through  Thoroughfare  Gap  and  "lurked," 
with  "disaster  and  shame,"  right  down  on  Manassas 
Junction,  leaving  Major-General  Pope  still  operating 
on  the  Rappahannock,  under  the  deluded  idea  that 
Jackson  had  run  off  to  the  Valley,  and  he  was  about 
to  dispose  of  what  Rebels  were  left  in  his  front,  take 
Richmond,  and  sweep  right  on  to  New  Orleans. 


But- 


At  midnight  in  his  guarded  tent, 

The  Turk  was  dreaming  of  the  hour,"  etc. 


"At  midnight  in  the  forest  shades, 
Bozzaris  ranged  his  Sulite  band." 


History  repeats  itself,  and  we  have  only  to  wait 
to  see  that — "the  thing  which  is,  is  that  which 
hath  been,  and  there  is  no  new  thing  under  the  sun. ' ' 


106         How  a  One- Legged  Rebel  Lives. 

We  had  marched  fast  and  long,  and  had  also 
fasted  long,  but  when  the  vast  magazines  of  sup- 
plies, captured  right  between  Pope  and  Washington 
City,  were  opened  to  us,  the  boys  hardly  knew  what 
to  lay  hands  on  first  in  the  way  of  eatables.  No 
pen  can  describe  the  rollicking  antics  of  Jackson's 
men,  as  they  revelled  among  the  good  things  spread 
in  prodigal  profusion  around  them — in  army  goods 
and  sutler  stores.  It  was  more  than  funny  to  see 
the  ragged,  rough,  dirty  fellows,  who  had  been  half 
living  on  roasted  corn  and  green  apples,  for  days, 
now  drink ing  Rhine  wine,  eating  lobster  sajad, potted 
tongue,  cream  biscuit,  pound  cake,  canned  fruits, 
and  the  like ;  and  filling  pockets  and  haversacks 
with  ground  coffee,  tooth-brushes,  condensed  milk, 
silk  handkerchiefs.  The  captures  at  Manassas  are 
thus  summed  up,  in  General  Jackson's  report : 
"Bight  pieces  artillery,  seventy-two  horses  and 
equipments,  three  hundred  prisoners,  two  hundred 
negroes,  two  hundred  new  tents,  one  hundred  and 
seventy-five  extra  horses,  ten  locomotives,  two  rail- 
road trains  loaded  with  stores  worth  several  millions 
of  dollars,  50,000  pounds  bacon,  1,000  barrels  of 
beef,  20,000  barrels  pork,  several  thousand  barrels 
of  flour,  and  a  very  large  quantity  of  sutler's  stores." 
The  folks  at  Washington  made  an  effort  to  save  it, 
by  sending  General  Taylor,  with  his  brigade  of 
New  Jersey  troops,  by  rail,  to  drive  us  away  ;  but 


How  a  One- Legged  Rebel  Lives.  107 

the  "Old  Blue  Hen's  Chickens"  were  not  strong 
enough  to  whip  the  "Stonewall  Gray  Jackets"  out 
of  that  place,  for  we  got  together,  with  our  guns, 
killed  the  General  and  tore  the  brigade  to  atoms. 
Jackson  always  said  his  men  would  fight  for  some- 
thing to  eat. 

This  was  the  morning  of  the  27th,  and  we  pretty 
soon  learned  that  General  Pope  had  been  notified 
that  his  army  supplies,  "in  his  rear,"  were  in  dan- 
ger, for  his  whole  army  came  trooping  back  in 
clouds,  and  we  had  to  pack  up  and  move  out.  So 
we  filled  up  all  we  could  carry  of  the  good  things 
and  fired  the  balance.  It  was  hard  on  us  to  see  so 
much  good  eatables  burned  up,  but  it  made  a  splen- 
did blaze,  and  we  knew  Pope's  army  couldn't  fight 
without  rations.  Of  course  all  manner  of  rumors 
and  reports  were  flying  around  among  the  soldiers, 
and  we  believed  all  we  heard — a  little — but  most 
of  them  were  spoken  of  "as  reports  by  grapevine 
telegraph,"  an  expression  denoting  lack  of  faith  in 
their  reliability  ;  and,  speaking  of  the  telegraph 
reminds  me  of  the  prompt  action  taken  by  a  keen 
cavalryman  of,  I  think  Colonel  Munford's  regiments, 
at  Manassas.  He  had  never  seen  a  telegraph  instru- 
ment before,  and  came  upon  one  here  which  was 
ticking  away  in  fine  business  style,  and,  to  his 
excited  imagination,  it  was  some  "infernal  machine" 
arranged  to  explode   the  magazine  or  something, 


108  How  a  One- Legged  Rebel  Lives. 

and  perhaps  kill  the  whole  army.  Taking  the 
matter  and  its  consequence  in  at  a  glance,  he  gal- 
lantly resolved  to  sacrifice  himself  to  save  his  com- 
rades, and  springing  upon  it,  with  the  suddenness 
of  a  tiger,  he  kicked  the  mysterious  ticker  to  atoms 
with  his  big  boots,  and  rushing  out  of  the  office, 
exclaimed — "Boys  !  they  was  a  tryin'  to  blow  us  up, 
but  I  seen  their  triggers  a  workin'  and  busted  'em." 

About  this  time  Pope  began  to  use  his  "grape- 
vine telegraph"  quite  freely,  and  when  General 
Kwell  used  the  6th  and  8th  Louisiana  regiment  and 
the  6oth  Georgia,  at  close  range,  to  hold  the  two 
leading  brigades  of  the  Federal  army  in  check, 
until  the  stuff  at  Manassaj  was  all  destroyed — and 
held  his  ground  so  obstinately,  by  aid  of  the  cavalry 
regiments  of  Colonels  Munford  and  Rosser,  (2d  and 
5th  Virginia),  that  Pope  got  his  army  in  line  for  a 
general  engagement,  when  Bwell  withdrew  his 
little  force,  leaving  General  Early,  with  his  brigade 
and  the  cavalry,  to  protect  his  rear,  and  retired  to 
Manassas  ;  General  Pope  immediately  telegraphed 
to  Washington  that  he  "had  routed  aud  cut  off 
Jackson  and  his  whole  force;"  which  was  fully 
believed  all  over  the  North,  and  not  long  afterwards 
he  telegraphed  tc  Baltimore  to  "make  room  for  Jack- 
son and  16,000  prisoners,"  which  he  "had  bagged," 
as  he  called  it. 

The  Federal  army  could  not  stand  the  destruction 


How  a  One- Legged  Rebel  Lives.  109 

of  stores  at  Manassas,  and  when  Fitz.  Lee  struck 
out  for  Fairfax  Courthouse,  with  his  cavalry,  pre- 
venting supply  trains  coming  from  Washington, 
Pope  was  in  a  condition  to  be  starved  in  the  open 
field,  something  almost  unheard  of  in  military 
history  of  superior  armies,  and  his  main  apology — 
apart  from  the  Fitz  John  Porter  "scape-goat" 
business — for  his  defeat  at  Manassas  was  the  want 
of  rations  for  his  men  and  forage  for  his  horses. 

It  always  seemed  to  the  folks  who  were  looking 
at  the  campaign  that  the  "invincible  annihilator" 
of  Lee's  army  was  premature  in  "discarding  lines 
of  retreat  and  bases  of  supplies"  so  promptly  in  the 
beginning  of  his  operations,  because  we  all  thought 
"Stonewall"  was  the  man  to  attend  to  those  little 
matters  for  him;  and  the  shadow  of  Jackson  did 
rest  heavily  on  Pope's  army  when  it  entered 
Manassas  on  the  28th  August. 

At  this  time,  while  fighting  and  maneuvering  to 
hold  our  own  until  General  Lee  could  get  to  us 
with  the  balance  of  the  army,  a  shell  was  thrown 
into  our  ranks  from  the  Warrenton  road,  exploding 
in  Company  C,  of  the  52d  Regiment,  which  killed 
and  wounded  eighteen  men,  seven  of  them  being 
killed  on  the  spot.  Among  the  wounded  by  this 
fatal  shell  was  Col.  James  H.  Skinner,  of  Staunton, 
Va.,  commanding  the  regiment.  Colonel  Skinner 
was  afterwards  wounded  at  Gettysburg  by  a  shell 


110         How  a  One- Legged  Rebel  Lives. 

which  exploded  on  the  ground  in  front  of  him,  and 
blinded  for  several  months  by  the  dirt  and  gravel 
thrown  into  his  eyes.  In  the  battle  of  Spottsylvania 
Courthouse,  Colonel  Skinner  was  again  wounded 
by  a  musket  ball,  which  passed  through  both  his 
eyes. 

The  28th  was  the  day  Pope  concentrated,  as  well 
as  he  knew  how  to  do  it,  his  whole  army  of  50,000 
men  on  Jackson's  22,000,  but  the  modern  Caesar 
was  no  match  in  generalship  tor  our  "Stonewall," 
who  was  now  engaged  in  the  l 'overt  act  of  war" 
right  between  Pope  and  his  capital  city,  and  only  a 
day's  march  from  it.  But  I  shall  not  attempt  any 
description  of  the  three  days'  battle  of  Manassas 
No.  2,  in  which  the  shallow,  braggart,  persecutor 
of  Virginia  women  and  children — John  Pope — was 
whipped,  and,  so  far  as  fame  and  character  are 
concerned,  personally  annihilated — "the  deserter 
desolate."  Nor  have  I  any  apology  for  expressing 
so  much  of  an  opinion  of  him,  which,  so  far  as  my 
knowledge  goes,  is  shared  by  all  decent  people 
North  and  South,  by  his  own  soldiers  as  well  as 
ours;  and,  moreover,  the  great  marauder  of  hen- 
roosts, milk-houses  and  wardrobes  is  still  living. 

We  used  to  notice  one  curious  difference  between 
the  Northern  and  Southern  generals  during  the 
war.  Their  commanding  'generals  of  armies  and 
army  corps  on  battle-days  kept  at  their  headquarters, 


How  a  One-Legged  Rebel  Lives.         Ill 

long  distance  from  the  field,  and  using  their  well- 
appointed  staff  officers  and  couriers  exclusively  in 
comrnnnicating  their  orders  to  the  troops,  while  the 
Southern  generals  were  up  among  their  men,  direct- 
ing and  leading  their  movements,  and  encouraging 
them  at  the  critical  points. 

I  am  sure  that  if  the  Northern  soldiers  had  been 
thus  led  and  handled,  so  they  could  have  had  the 
same  confidence  in  their  generals  the  Southern  men 
had,  they  would  have  ended  the  war  in  less  than 
four  years.  Everything  else  being  equal,  one  man 
is  as  good  as  another,  but  one  soldier,  having  confi- 
dence in  his  commander,  is  worth  ten  half-hearted 
fellows,  who  have  little  faith  in  their  general  and 
only  see  him  at  review.  We  did  not  have  the  same 
discipline — in  regard  to  our  generals  anyhow — that 
the  Northern  army  had,  and  ours  did  not  make  the 
same  display  of  "fuss  and  feathers"  with  brilliant 
staff  officers,  nor  require  the  same  flourishing  of 
caps  and  saluting  with  arms  presented  whenever 
they  met  us.  Ours  met  spontaneous  salutes  of 
cheers  right  from  the  hearts  of  their  admiring 
soldiers,  and  I  have  seen  Jackson,  Ewell  and  others 
do  some  very  hard  riding,  bareheaded,  along  the 
columns  to  escape  the  noisy  homage  of  their  devoted 
followers. 

Any  school  boy  would  have  known  that  Pope's 
proper  course  was  to  crush  Jackson's  corps  out  of 


112         How  a  One- Legged  Rebel  Lives. 

existence,  and  then  turn  on  Longstreet  and  perform 
the  same  service  for  him — General  Lee's  disposition 
of  his  army  having  put  it  in  the  power  of  the 
Federal  commander  to  do  this  easily;  but  General 
Lee  knew  his  man  thoroughly,  and  trusted  fully  to 
his  blundering  incompetency  to  admit  Longstreet 
to  march  his  corps  through  Thoroughfare  Gap  and 
unite  with  Jackson  at  Manassas,  which  was  done 
by  the  29th.  True,  General  Pope  defends  himself 
by  bringing  charges  of  '  'delay, ' '  '  'inefficiency, ' '  and 
even  disloyalty  against  General  Porter  and  others; 
but  the  rejoinders  of  these  officers,  backed  by  clouds 
of  witnesses,  are  fatal  to  General  Pope's  character 
for  generalship  and  veracity,  and  the  fact  remains 
perfectly  clear  that  he  was  out-generaled  and  out- 
fought by  "Stonewall  the  Great."  Gen.  Ulysses 
S.  Grant,  in  his  last  days,  after  he  had  taken  the 
time  to  examine  the  case  against  Porter,  fully 
vindicated  him  and  left  Pope's  reputation  beyond 
redemption.  But  the  "boys  in  blue"  made  a 
splendid  fight,  and  attacked  our  position  in  charge 
after  charge,  only  to  be  driven  back  with  slaughter, 
and  when  General  Early  found  they  had  gotten 
possession  of  the  railroad  cut  immediately  in  his 
front,  he  promptly  attacked  them,  drove  them  out 
and  for  two  hundred  yards  into  the  woods.  Here 
occurred  a  personal  matter  which  afforded  me  much 
pleasure  in  after  years,   though  at  the  time  only 


How  a  One- Legged  Rebel  Lives.  113 

done  under  the  promptings  of  humanity.  As  we 
pressed  across  the  railroad  bank,  where  lay  numbers 
of  dead  and  wounded  Federals,  I  inadvertently 
stepped  on  the  foot  of  a  wounded  man,  which 
brought  a  groan  of  pain,  and  I  asked  his  pardon  for 
the  accident.  After  our  line  halted — which  was  in 
a  short  distance — I  returned  to  the  poor  fellow, 
gave  him  water,  and  asked  if  I  could  do  anything 
for  him.  He  was  very  grateful,  but  thought 
nothing  could  be  done  then;  however,  I  asked  my 
Captain,  Airhart,  a  noble-souled  christian  gentle- 
man, to  assist  me,  and  we  moved  the  man  to  a 
more  comfortable  position  under  a  tree,  where 
Captain  Airhart,  who  had  considerable  knowledge 
of  surgery,  dressed  his  wounds,  and  I  did  what  I 
could  to  make  him  comfortable,  and,  after  exchang- 
ing slips  of  paper  with  our  names  written  on  them, 
I  rejoined  my  Company,  and  in  the  busy  scenes 
then  and  afterwards  being  enacted,  almost  forgot 
the  incident. 

In  1885  I  was  canvassing  for  a  book,  trying  to 
make  a  living  for  a  certain  "one-legged  rebel,"  and 
found  myself  in  Jonesboro,  Tenn.  In  the  course  of 
business  I  called  on  a  Mr.  Locke,  of  that  town — 
but  I  will  give  the  account  as  it  was  published  in 
the  Jonesboro  Herald  and  Tribune  of  May  15,  1885: 

"Only  a  few  weeks  ago  it  was  telegraphed  over 
the   country    that    Bill    Arp,    the    noted    Georgia 


114         How  a  One-Legged  Rebel  Lives. 

humorist,  had  received  from  Pennsylvania  an  auto- 
graph album  that  had  been  taken  from  his  wife's 
(then  his  sweetheart)  house  more  than  twenty  years 
ago.  Last  week  a  much  more  remarkable  incident 
happened  in  Jonesboro.  On  Wednesday,  Mr.  John 
S.  Robson,  ot  Virginia,  and  formerly  a  member  of 
the  5 2d  Regiment  of  that  State,  in  the  Confederate 
service,  came  here  to  canvass  for  the  sale  of  a  book 
he  'is  publishing,  giving  incidents  of  the  camp  and 
inarch  as  he  saw  them. 

"Mr.  Robson  had  but  one  leg,  having  contributed 
the  other  to  his  side  of  the  game,  in  one  of  the 
battles  of  1864.  In  the  course  of  the  day  he  met 
Mr.  J.  C.  Locke,  a  citizen  of  Jonesboro.  As  soon 
as  Mr.  Locke  observed  the  missing  leg  he  remarked 
to  Mr.  Robson  that  he  (Locke)  had  also  lost  a  leg 
in  the  war,  mentioning  the  engagement,  the  second 
battle  of  Bull  Run,  August  29,  1862.  Mr.  Locke 
then  began  to  tell  of  the  kind  treatment  he  had 
received  that  day  from  a  young  Rebel  named  Rob- 
son. 'Why,'  exclaimed  Mr.  Robson,  'I  am  the 
young  Rebel  that  took  care  of  you  that  day. '  And 
sure  enough  he  was.  A  comparison  of  incidents 
established  the  fact  beyond  a  doubt.  Mr.  Locke 
was  a  member  of  Company  E,  100th  Pennsylvania 
(Roundhead)  Regiment.  In  the  second  engagement 
at  Bull  Run  he  was  badly  wounded  in  the  leg,  just 
as  his  command  was  forced  to  fall  back.     While 


How  a  One-Legged  Rebel  Lives.  115 

stretched  upon  the  field,  in  the  agonies  of  a  wound 
that  was  to  cost  him  his  leg,  he  was  approached  by 
a  boyish-looking  Rebel,  who  asked  him  if  he  would 
not  like  to  be  moved  to  a  more  comfortable  place, 
at  the  same  time  offering  to  have  his  wounds 
dressed  by  his  officer,  Captain  Airhart,  who  had 
some  knowledge  of  surgery.  The  young  Rebel 
advised  L,ocke  that  if  he  had  anything  in  his  knap- 
sack which  he  cared  to  preserve,  he  had  better  put 
it  in  his  blouse  pocket.  This  he  did,  presenting 
his  Rebel  savior  with  a  razor  from  a  shaving  outfit 
he  carried.  When  the  wounded  Federal  was 
comfortably  fixed,  the  two  soldiers  parted,  each 
writing  down  the  other's  name.  The  Rebel  was 
Mr.  John  S.  Robson. 

uThe  two  men  never  met  or  heard  of  each  other 
from  that  day  until  Wednesday  of  last  week,  though 
they  had  often  thought  of  one  another.  Of  course 
the  meeting  was  a  happy  one,  for  it  was  the  renewal 
of  an  undying  friendship,  formed  in  the  midst  of 
war's  carnage.  No  doubt,  during  the  rebellion, 
there  occurred  many  incidents  similar  to  the  nobility 
exhibited  by  the  Virginian  to  the  Pennsylvanian, 
but  it  is  rare  the  actors  meet,  as  our  two  soldiers 
did,  after  so  many  years  have  intervened." 


116         How  a  One- Legged  Rebel  Lives. 

CHAPTER  IX. 

I  have  straggled  again,  but  will  join  the  march 
once  more.  After  Manassas  we  turned  our  faces 
towards  the  Potomac,  and  had  more  hard  marching 
before  us,  and  scant  rations  again.  The  roasted 
corn  and  green  apples  had  not  given  out  yet,  but 
our  wagon  trains  failed  to  get  up,  and  we  longed 
for  the  quantity  of  good  things  that  were  burned 
up  at  Manassas.  Our  march  led  us  into  Loudoun 
county,  Virginia,  and  here  we  fared  better  than 
among  the  pines  and  red  gullies  of  Prince  William. 
At  our  camp  near  L,eesburg,  a  good  story  of 
Mclyaws'  men  got  out.  It  seems  that  when  Gen- 
eral McLaws'  division  went  into  bivouac,  hunger 
had  got  the  better  of  their  morals,  and  many  of 
them  made  a  raid  on  a  cornfield  for  rations.  The 
owner  called  on  the  General  to  protect  his  property, 
and  he  ordered  guards  to  surround  the  field,  arrest 
every  man  coming  out  with  corn,  and  bring  him 
and  his  plunder  to  headquarters.  It  was  not  long 
until  the  "pirouters"  began  to  appear,  under  guard, 
in  the  presence  of  the  irate  commander,  and  as  each 
one,  with  his  arm  load  of  corn,  halted  before  him, 
the  General  opened  on  him  like  this:  "Where  did 
you  get  that  corn?"  and  the  culprit  would  begin: 
"Why,  General,  I  had  nothing  to  eat  for  three 
days,  and  I  didn't  know  when  the  wagons  would 
come" — but   there   the  General   stopped  him  with 


How  a  One- Legged  Rebel  Lives.  117 

the  order:  uPut  it  down  there  on  the  ground  and 
go  join  your  command  immediately  !"  This  move- 
ment, being  many  times  repeated,  caused  quite  a 
large  pile  of  corn  to  grow  up  in  front  of  the 
General's  quarters,  and  in.  answer  to  the  savage- 
toned  query — uWhat  are  you  going  to  do  with  that 
corn?"  every  one  made  the  same  excuse  of 
"hungry,"  ' 'wagons  not  come  up,"  etc.,  and  in 
each  case  the  order  was,  "throw  it  down  on  that 
pile  and  go  join  your  command  immediately." 
Finally,  one  "gray  jacket,"  who  had  "caught  on" 
to  the  manner  and  form  of  the  proceedings,  was 
brought  up  and  accosted  fiercely,  with  the  question: 
"What  are  you  going  to  do  with  that  corn?" 
"Why,  sir,"  said  the  culprit,  briskly,  "I'm  going 
to  throw  it  down  on  that  pile  thar,  and  go  and  join 
my  command  immejitly,  I  am!"  The  General 
broke  down,  the  guards  roared,  and  the  cute  Reb 
slid  out  "immejitly,"  but  the  quartermaster  took 
charge  of  the  corn  and  issued  it  to  the  men,  who 
made  it  last  until  the  wagons  came  up  with  rations. 
On  the  5th  September  we  crossed  the  Potomac 
at  White's  Ford,  and  stood  on  Maryland  soil,  but 
it  was  only  a  remnant  of  the  "Army  of  Northern 
Virginia"  that  went  over.  Thousands  of  our  boys 
had  lagged,  worn  out,  bare-footed,  sick,  hungry, 
they  could  not  keep  upland  so,  from  actual  necessity, 
twenty  thousand  men  of  Lee's  army  staid  in  Vir- 


118         How  a  One-Legged  Rebel  Lives. 

ginia  and  crept,  as  best  they  could,  to  the  rendezvous 
indicated  to  them  by  the  General  for  a  rallying 
point — Winchester.  We  got  to  Frederick  City  on 
the  6th,  and  behaved  ourselves  like  good  boys, 
while  the  good  people  of  Maryland  treated  us  very 
kindly;  but  there  was  no  doubt  about  our  having 
struck  them  at  the  wrong  time  or  place.  We 
Rebels  didn't  have  many  songs  peculiarly  our  own. 
We  had  no  "Yankee  Doodle,"  no  "Star  Spangled 
Banner,"  no  "Hail  Columbia,"  no  "Tramp,  Tramp, 
The  Boys  Are  Marching,"  no  "John  Brown's  Body 
Lies  a  Moldering  in  the  Clay,"  no  "Rally  Round 
the  Flag,  Boys,"  like  our  blue-backed  friends  over 
the  way.  We  had  our  old  stand-by,  "Dixie" — 
good  yet — and  "Bonnie  Blue  Flag,"  but  we  had 
another — "Maryland,  My  Maryland" — which,  up 
to  this  time,  we  had  sung  with  a  good  deal  of  hope 
and  vim,  for  this  song  asserted  positively  that, 
"She  Breathes,  She  Burns,  She'll  Come,  She'll 
Come,"  etc.,  but  it  didn't  take  "us  generals"  of 
the  ranks  very  long  to  see  that  there  was  a  mistake 
about  it  somewhere.  "Some  one  had  blundered," 
for  she  didri* t  "come"  worth  a  cent;  and  the  people 
of  this  portion  of  Maryland  didn't  flock  to  the 
"Bonnie  Blue,"  in  defence  of  Southern  rights  quite 
as  unanimously  as  we  had  been  led  to  expect — 
according  to  the  song — but  everything  was  grand, 
and   the  invasion  a  pleasure  trip,  so  long  as  we 


How  a  One-Legged  Rebel  Lives.         119 

knew  Major-General  Pope  commanded  the  uboys 
in  blue." 

However,  we  soon  learned  that  "Little  Mac"  was 
again  at  the  head  of  the  army,  and  then  the  idea 
occurred  to  "us  generals"  that  our  Maryland  busi- 
ness had  better  be  attended  to  promptly.  We  were 
not  much  afraid  of  them,  but  they  might  intimidate 
the  Maryland  folks,  and  prevent  them,  to  some 
extent,  from  joining  us;  and,  moreover,  while  we 
fully  intended  to  locate  our  winter  quarters  on  the 
Susquehanna,  we  wished  to  enjoy  ourselves  a  little 
while  in  this  plentiful  country,  and  get  some  fat  on 
our  bones  before  breaking  up  another  army  for 
General  McClellan. 

It  is  not  surprising,  I  think,  that  the  Maryland 
folks  looked  with  some  doubt  and  distrust  of  final 
success  upon  the  army  of  rag-tag-and-bobtail  which 
General  Lee  marched  into  their  midst.  These 
might  be  the  gallant  soldiers  of  "Dixie"  who  had 
vanquished  the  great  generals  of  the  North  in  the 
Valley  of  Virginia,  the  swamps  of  the  Chickahominy 
and  on  the  plains  of  Manassas,  but  they  didn't  look 
like  it.  Those  tattered  battle-flags  might  be  crowned 
with  the  glory  of  Kernstown,  McDowell,  Front 
Royal,  Cross  Keys,  Port  Republic,  Seven  Pines, 
Cold  Harbor  and  the  Seven  Days,  Cedar  Run, 
Bristoe,  Manassas  Nos.  i  and  2,  but  it  didn't  appear 
to  those  Maryland  eyes.     Nor  could  they  see  the 


120         How  a  One- Legged  Rebel  Lives. 

scalps  of  Milroy,  Shields,  Fremont,  Banks,  Mc- 
Dowell, McClellan,  and  Pope,  which  swung  from 
the  belt  of  the  A.  N.  V.  The  appearance  of  the 
army  didn't  justify  the  faith  in  those  deeds,  and 
notwithstanding  the  gate  was  open  and  the  bars 
down,  they  wouldn't  walk  into  the  Confederacy 
yet.  And,  since  Maryland  wouldn't  fall  into  line 
with  her  Southern  sisters,  we  determined  to  move 
on  to  the  North,  but  before  doing  this,  General  Lee 
thought  it  advisable  to  take  Harper's  Ferry  back 
into  the  Confederate  States  at  any  rate,  and  on  the 
ioth  September  he  sent  "Stonewall"  to  attend  to 
that  little  matter,  and  we  went  along. 

We  marched  by  Boonsboro  to  Williamsport, 
reaching  Martinsburg  on  the  12th,  capturing  a 
large  quantity  of  stores  from  General  White  at  that 
place,  and  sending  him  with  his  folks  to  join 
General  Miles  in  Harper's  Ferry,  so  that  we  could 
get  them  all  at  once.  On  the  13th  we  reached 
Bolivar,  and  waited  until  Generals  McLaws  and 
Walker — the  first  on  the  Maryland  and  the  second 
on  the  Loudoun  Heights — answered  our  signals. 
The  whole  United  States  force  at  the  Ferry  was 
estimated  at  11,000,  with  plenty  of  cavalry  and 
artillery.  On  Monday  morning,  15th  September, 
"Stonewall,"  having  the  bird  in  hand,  closed  his 
fingers  on  it  by  opening  a  concentric  fire  of  artillery 
from  all  commanding  points  on  the  Federal  forts 


How  a  One- Legged  Rebel  Lives.  121 

and  camps,  thus  illustrating  the  opinion  expressed 
by  General  Jo  Johnston  in  1861,  of  Harper's  Ferry 
as  a  strategic  point.  At  that  time  the  Richmond 
government  desired  him  to  hold  the  place  against 
Patterson,  the  Federal  general,  but  Johnston 
refused,  saying  that  he  didn't  propose  to  be 
"penned  in  the  mouth  of  a  tunnel,"  but  this  is 
exactly  the  predicament  General  Miles  found  him- 
self in,  and  General  White  had  "brought  his  ducks 
to  the  same  market." 

About  an  hour  of  this  cannonading  brought  a 
white  flag  out  on  the  enemy's  works,  and  Harper's 
Ferry  was  ours.  General  Miles  was  killed  at  the 
moment  the  flag  was  displayed,  and  General  White 
made  the  surrender,  which  actually  included  11,000 
prisoners,  13,000  small  arms,  73  cannon,  200 
wagons,  and  an  immense  amount  of  camp  and 
garrison  furniture.  As  soon  as  General  Jackson 
knew  the  enemy  had  given  up  the  fight,  he  laid 
down  by  a  log  and  went  to  sleep,  thoroughly  worn 
out  with  fatigue  and  loss  of  sleep.  Gen.  A.  P. 
Hill  brought  General  White  out  to  see  him,  and 
waking  him  up,  announced:  "General,  General 
White,  of  the  United  States  Army,  desires  to 
arrange  the  terms  of  surrender."  Jackson  made  a 
courteous  movement  with  his  hand,  and  went  back 
to  sleep.  General  Hill  roused  him  a  second  time,, 
and  then   "Stonewall"  said:    "General  White,  the 


122         How  a  One-Legged  Rebel  Lives. 

surrender  must  be  unconditional,  every  indulgence 
can  be  granted  afterwards. ' '  That  ended  it,  for  he 
was  asleep  again,  and  Hill  walked  back  with  White, 
but  when  his  nap  was  out  he  was  himself  again,  and 
accorded  the  most  generous  terms  to  his  captives. 

Our  next  difficulty  was  of  a  much  more  serious 
nature,  for  McClellan  was  mustering  his  army  at 
Sharpsburg,  on  the  Antietam  ;  and  "us  generals" 
freely  expressed  our  unfeigned  regret  that  Major- 
General  J.  Pope  had  been  superceeded. 

We  left  Harper's  Ferry  on  the  16th,  and  joined 
General  Lee  the  same  evening,  and  our  commanders, 
on  both  sides,  were  busy  arranging  for  the  big 
battle  that  was  to  come  off  tomorrow,  as  coolly  as 
farmers  getting  ready  to  plant  corn.  It  was  no  new 
business  to  us  now — for  the  novelty  was  all  worn 
off — but  we  did  wish  for  our  twenty  thousand  strag- 
glers in  Virginia.  The  ball  opened  at  daylight, 
on  the  17th,  and  as  one  old  soldier  expressed  it,  "we 
fought  all  day  before  breakfast,  and  went  on  picket 
all  night  before  supper."  "Fighting"  Jo  Hooker 
was  immediately  in  front  of  Jackson's  line;  any- 
body that  complained  of  employment  that  day  was 
hard  to  satisfy. 

The  thing  got  very  hot  among  the  battery  boys, 
after  the  preliminary  skirmishing  had  cleared  the 
floor  for  the  dance  of  death  ;  but  about  sunrise  the 
infantry  advanced  in  heavy  force,   their  batteries 


How  a  One-Legged  Rebel  Lives.  123 

moving  forward  with  them  and  pouring  grape  and 
canister  among  us  at  close  range.  This  trouble 
lasted  for  some  time,  and  then  Hooker  threw  his 
whole  column  suddenly  against  our  line,  and  the 
firing  was  heavy  and  incessant.  The  object  was  to 
turn  General  Lee's  left,  but  for  more  than  two  hours 
Jac'-son's  men  sustained  the  almost  overwhelming 
assaults  of  the  best  troops  McClellan  had,  and  he 
sent  heavy  re-enforecements  to  Hooker,  so  that 
this  wing  of  our  army  might  be  driven  back  and 
General  Lee  forced  to  retreat.  More  than  half  of 
our  men  were  killed  or  wounded  and  then,  to  crown 
the  trouble,  our  ammunition  gave  out.  Our  two 
division  commanders  were  gone,  General  Starke 
killed  and  Ceneral  L,awton,  of  our  division, 
wounded  ;  and  every  regimental  commander  in  two 
brigades  were  killed  or  wounded. 

General  Jackson  himself  gave  the  order  to  "retire 
slowly,"  which  he  did,  and  the  movement  seemed 
to  inspire  "Fighting  Jo's"  men,  and  they  crowded 
us  hotter  than  ever,  but  now  General  Hood  came  to 
our  support  with  his  two  brigades,  and  then  the  fight 
begun.  Up  hill  and  down,  through  the  woods  and 
the  corn-fields,  over  the  ploughed  land  and  the 
clover,  the  line  of  fire  swept  to  and  fro  as  one  side 
or  the  other  gained  a  temporary  advantage.  General 
Sumner's  corps  came  to  "Fighting  Jo's"  assistance, 
and  now  it  seemed  that  Jackson  would  have  to  give 


124         How  a  One- Legged  Rebel  Lives. 

way,  which,  if  he  did,   would  decide  the  battle  in 
favor  of  the  Federal  army  ;  but  he  still  hung  on 
with  the  tenacity  of  a  bull-dog,   and  just  at  the 
last  moment   his   relief  came  in   the  brigades  of 
Semmes,   Anderson,    and   part  of  Barksdale's  and 
McLaw's  divisions.     These  men  got  quickly  into 
line,   and   pretty   soon  Jackson  rushed  everything 
forward  in  a  determined  charge,   which  compelled 
Hooker's  men  to  surrender  all  the  ground  they  had 
gained  from  us,  and  pressing  on  we  forced  them 
from  and  beyond  the  woods  for  more  than  a  mile. 
Of  course  our  whole  army  had  been  fighting  hard 
all  day  to  prevent  McClellan's  men   from  crossing 
at  the  various  bridges  over  the  Antietam  Creek, 
and  more  than  two  hundred  cannon  were  thunder- 
ing  along    that   line   all   the   time,    but   General 
McClellan's   report   shows   that   the   result  of  his 
assaults  on  Jackson's  position  was  regarded  by  him 
as  decisive  of  the  battle;  but  Jackson  did  not  stop 
at  regaining  and  holding  his  original  position,  but 
moved   forward    promptly    with   General    Stuart's 
cavalry  in  front,  and  attempted  to  turn  McClellan's 
right.     This  movement  he  was  compelled  to  stop, 
however,   because  the  enemy's  batteries   so   com- 
pletely swept  the  narrow   passage   between   their 
right  flank  and  the  Potomac,  that  he  would  not 
expose  his  men  to  their  fire. 

More  than  once  during  this  battle  Jackson's  men 


How  a  One- Legged  Rebel  Lives.  125 

had  held  on  until  they  had  fired  their  last  round, 
and  each  time  help  came  to  hold  the  line  of  battle 
until  we  could  fill  our  cartridge-boxes  again,  and 
the  battle  ended  at  dark.  We  staid  on  the  battle- 
ground all  day,  in  line,  waiting  for  General 
McClellan's  boys  to  come  again,  but  they  didn't  do 
it,  and  at  night,  on  the  18th,  crossed  the  river  into 
Virginia  again. 

The  invasion  was  ended,  and  we  decided  not  to 
winter  on  the  Susquehanna,  perhaps  because  it  was 
too  far  north  for  us,  and  we  feared  the  climate 
would  not  agree  with  us,  but  when  General  Mc- 
Clellan  sent  a  column  over  the  river  at  Shepherds- 
town,  on  the  20th,  to  beat  up  our  quarters  and  keep 
us  from  resting,  we  let  A.  P.  Hill  and  General 
"Jubilee"  Early  go  see  about  it,  and  when  they 
got  there  it  was  very  troublesome  for  awhile,  but 
our  boys  drove  them  into  the  river,  where  a  great 
many  were  drowned.  By  their  own  account  one 
division  lost  3,000  killed  and  drowned.  Our  loss 
was  261,  and  we  got  300  prisoners. 

General  Lee's  army  lost  at  Sharpsburg  8,790 
men,  killed  and  wounded;  General  McClellan's 
army  lost  12,469,  killed  and  wounded.  What  a 
commentary  on  war,  for  it  was  a  drawn  battle  ! 


126         How  a  One-Legged  Rebel  Lives, 

CHAPTER  X. 
I  find  that  I  am  consuming  too  much  space  in 
my  attempt  to  keep  my  story  going  along,  in  a 
consecutive  line,  with  the  history  of  the  operations 
of  Jackson's  men,  for  it  of  necessity  comes  into 
connection  with  what  was  done  by  the  whole  army, 
and  yet,  in  following  out  my  original  plan,  I  cannot 
avoid  it.  I  have  also  to  deal  somewhat  with  the 
operations  of  the  enemy,  for  the  story  of  a  war  with 
no  reference  to  what  the  fellows  over  the  fence  did, 
would  out-Hamlet  old  Hamlet  himself,  if  there  was 
no  Hamlet.  However,  the  campaigns  of  1862  were 
now  about  ended,  and  we  spent  the  gloriously 
beautiful  month  of  October  in  our  own  beloved 
Valley  of  the  Shenandoah— resting,  getting  fat  and 
strong,  and  that  was  the  happiest  time  we  ever 
spent  during  the  four  years.  We  did  very  little 
except  camp  duty,  unless  the  destruction  of  all  the 
railroads  in  our  vicinity  might  be  called  duty;  and 
"Stonewall"  seems  to  ugo  for"  a  railroad  like  the 
fellow  who  killed  the  splendid  Anaconda  in  the 
museum,  because  "it  was  his  rule  to  kill  snakes 
wherever  he  found  them,"  just  because  it  was  his 
rule  to  destroy  all  railroads  he  could  get  at;  and  we 
demolished  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  from  Hedges- 
ville  to  Harper's  Ferry;  the  Winchester  and  Potomac 
we  swept  entirely  off  the  face  of  the  earth;  but  it 


How  a  One-Legged  Rebel  Lives.  121 

never  was  much  of  a  railroad  anyhow,  and  the 
Manassas  Gap  from  Strasburg  to  Piedmont. 

"Stonewall"  was  the  grand  object  of  all  the 
sightseers,  and  much  curiosity  was  evinced  by 
strangers  to  get  a  look  at  him.  In  Martinsburg, 
where  the  ladies  crowded  around  him,  he  said: 
'  'Ladies,  this  is  the  first  time  I  was  ever  surrounded ;' ' 
but  they  cut  nearly  all  the  buttons  off  his  clothes — 
stripped  his  coat  entirely — and  took  from  him  "his 
mangy  $ld  cap,"  as  Gen.  Dick  Taylor  called  it, 
giving  him,  instead,  a  handsome,  tall,  black  hat, 
but  he  damaged  that  as  much  as  he  could  by  turn- 
ing the  brim  down  all  around  wearing  it  so. 

In  November,  when  we  were  marching  through 
Middletown  on  our  way  to  Fredericksburg,  a  very 
old  woman,  who  had  a  grandson  somewhere  in  the 
army,  hailed  the  General  with  the  question — "Are 
you  Mr.  Jackson?"  He  told  her  he  was,  and  asked 
what  she  wanted.  "I  want  to  see  my  grandson; 
I've  brought  him  somef clothes  and  victuals.  His 
name  is  George  Martin,  ^and  he  belongs  to  your 
company  !"  The  General  asked  her  what  regiment 
or  brigade  he  was  in,  but  she  couldn't  tell,  didn't 
know  the  name  of  his  captain  even;  only  knew  he 
was  in  Mr.  Jackson's  company. 

In  her  distress,  she  exclaimed:  "Why,  Mr.  Jack- 
son, you  certainly  know  little  George  Martin ! 
He's  been  with  you  in  all  your  battles,  and  they 
do  say  he  fit  as  hard  as  any  of  them." 


128  How  a  One- Legged  Rebel  Lives. 

At  this,  some  of  the  younger  members  of  the 
staff  laughed,  but  the  General  turned  quickly 
around,  with  a  blaze  in  his  eye  and  a  thunder  cloud 
on  his  brow,  and  that  laugh  didn't  go  around — 
wasn't  enough  of  it;  for  Jackson  looked  as  if  he 
wanted  to  find  the  party  who  laughed,  but  the 
party  wasn't  laughing  then. 

Dismounting  from  his  horse,  he  took  the  old 
woman's  hand,  whose  tears  were  rolling  down  her 
face,  and  in  the  kindest  manner,  and  *simplest 
words,  explained  why  he  didn't  know  her  grandson; 
but  gave  her  such  simple  and  complete  directions 
as  would  enable  her  to  find  him.  We  didn't  think 
any  the  less  of  "Stonewall,"  for  such  foolishness 
as  this,  of  course,  but  we  wanted  to  hear  those  staff 
fellows  laugh  some  more. 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  say  that  "Stonewall" 
had  us  at  Fredericksburg  on  time,  and  on  the  13th 
December  he  wore  a  brand  new  ccat,  staff  buttons, 
stars,  wreath  and  all,  the  same  one  shown  in  nearly 
all  the  pictures  of  Jackson  I  have  ever  seen,  and 
his  men  hardly  knew  him  at  first.  I  am  not  going 
to  tell  much  about  the  battle  of  Fredericksburg, 
Everybody  knows  the  story  of  it,  from  the  bom- 
bardment and  burning  of  the  town  by  General 
Burnside's  orders  to  his  last  crossing,  on  the  night 
when  he  took  his  shivered  columns  back  to  Stafford. 
No  doubt  but  Burnside  was  fairly  beaten  and  badly 


7 
How  a  One- Legged  Rebel  Lives.  129 

broken  up,  but  I  am  not  going  to  criticise  General 
Lee  for  allowing  him  to  get  away  with  his  army, 
for  I  am  not  a  general  any  more,  and  the  newspaper 
critics,  as  well  as  fireside  generals,  have  about  used 
up  that  battle  in  their  discussion  of  it. 

Just  here  I  will  introduce  a  neat  bit  of  satire  from 
General  lyee  himself,  which  seems  to  me  to  tell  it 
all:  In  a  chat  with  the  Hon.  Ben  H.  Hill,  he  said: 
"We  made  a  great  mistake  in  the  beginning  of  our 
struggle,'  and  I  fear,  in  spite  of  all  we  can  do,  it 
will  prove  a  fatal  mistake. ' '  This  was  after  General 
Bragg  had  been  removed  from  command  of  the 
army  of  Tennessee.  "What  mistake  is  that, 
General?"  asked  Mr.  Hill.  "Why,  sir,  in  the 
beginning  we  appointed  all  our  worst  generals  to 
command  our  armies,  and  all  our  best  generals  to 
edit  our  newspapers.  I  have  done  the  best  I  could 
in  the  field,  and  have  not  succeeded  as  I  could  wish. 
I  am  willing  to  yield  my  place  to  these  best  generals, 
and  I  will  do  my  best  for  the  cause  editing  a  news- 
paper. Even  as  poor  a  soldier  as  I  am  can  generally 
discover  mistakes  after  it  is  all  over,  but  if  I  could 
only  induce  these  wise  gentlemen  who  see  them  so 
clearly  beforehand  to  communicate  with  me  in 
advance,  instead  of  waiting  until  the  evil  has  come 
upon  us,  to  let  me  know  what  they  knew  all  the 
time,  it  would  be  far  better  lor  the  country." 

After  reading  the  above  I  have  very  little  dispo- 


130  How  a  One- Legged  Rebel  Lives. 

sition  to  criticise  the  actions  of  General  Lee  in 
permitting  Burnside's  army  to  lay  along  the  river  for 
nearly  two  days,  and  on  the  night  of  the  15th  of 
December,  under  the  terrible  peltings  of  that  awful 
storm,  to  get  his  remnants  over  the  river  again,  but 
my  memory  of  the  situartion  at  the  time  checks  me, 
for  I  can  see  yet  those  splendid  batteries  of  great, 
big,  heavy  cannon,  planted  on  the  hights  of  Stafford, 
which  would  have  ground  up  many  a  "gray 
jacket"  if  our  general  had  put  us  across  the  space 
from  Marye's  Hill  to  the  Rappahannock,  and, 
knowing  that  General  Burnside  was  effectually  dis- 
posed of,  Ifshall  let  the  matter  rest. 

His  was  one  more  added  to  our  list  of  scalps,  but 
I  am  told  that  it  was  a  matter  of  some  uneasiness  to 
General  Lee.  During  the  Revolution,  so  says  Irv- 
ing, General  Putnam  devised  a  scheme  to  raid  the 
British  camp  in  New  York  town  and  carry  off  in  a 
boat  no  less  a  personage  as  prisoner  than  Sir  Henry 
Clinton  himself,  the  Commander-in-Chief  of  their 
army.  This^he  communicated  to  General  Wash- 
ington, who  sent  his  aid,  Colonel  Hamilton,  to 
make  an  inspection,  and  report  as  to  the  feasibility 
of  it.  Hamilton  performed  his  task  and  reported 
that  the  thing  could  be  done  pretty  easily,  but 
recommended  that  the  idea  be  at  once  given 
up.  Washington,  in  surprise,  inquired  his  reason, 
and  Hamilton  replied  that  we  knew  Sir  Henry  well 


How  a  One-Legged  Rebel  Lives.         131 

and  understood  him  perfectly,  but  that  if  he  was 
removed  his  government  might  put  a  man  in  his 
place  we  did  not  understand,  and  who  might  cause 
us  a  great  deal  more  trouble  than  Clinton  was  doing. 
General  Washington  saw  the  point,  and  gave  orders 
to  let  Sir  Henry  alone. 

General  Lee  said  that  he  didn't  like  so  many 
changes  of  commanders  of  the  Army  of  the  Poto- 
mac, for  they  might  find  a  man  after  a  while  who 
he  could  not  understand,  and  it  would  cause  trouble 
for  us. 

The  winter  of  1862-3  we  sPent  in  winter  quarters 
below  Moss  Neck,  about  ten  miles  below  Fredericks- 
burg, in  barely  tolerable  comfort ;  a  great  deal  of  the 
time  picketing  on  the  river  near  Port  Royal,  with 
the  enemies'  pickets  just  opposite  ours,  and  while 
I  know  there  was  a  good  deal  of  deserting  going  on 
from  their  side,  I  do  not  think  many  of  our  men 
deserted.  We  had  seen  the  McDowell-Scott  cam- 
paign, by  way  of  Manassas,  cut  short  quick — and 
we  had  heard  and  read  of  the  clamor  raised  by  the 
Northern  great  Generals,  who  edited  their  news- 
papers, when  McClellan  took  the  Peninsula  route; 
many  of  them  insisting  on  a  direct  march  by  the 
Rappahannock  line,  and  General  Burnside  had 
given  them  that  as  much  as  they  wanted,  and,  like 
the  others,  had  come  to  grief.  Of  course,  we  could 
not  tell  what  their  next  move  would  be,  but  we  ex- 


132  How  a  One-Legged  Rebel  Lives. 

pected  General  Lee  to  put  us  right  in  the  road 
whenever  the  movement  was  made,  and  we  were 
very  confident  of  the  result;  but  the  inexplicable 
decree  oi  Divine  Providence,  which  men  so  often 
see,  yet  cannot  comprehend,  was  to  be  wrought  to 
its  full  completion,  and  now  we  know  and  realize 
the  good  that  was  to  come  to  us  out  of  the  gloom 
and  blood  and  suffering  of  the  afflictive  school  of 
civil  war. 

When  spring  came  and  the  roads  became  passa- 
ble we  began  to  hear  from  the  boys  in  blue,  on  the 
other  side  of  the  Rappahannock;  how  they  had  a 
new  commander  named — and  rightly  too — "Fight- 
ing Joe  Hooker,"  and  that  their  army  was  in  better 
condition,  better  equipped,  if  possible,  and  more 
fully  determined  than  ever  to  capture  Richmond. 
Their  General  had  published  to  his  troops,  an  order 
in  which  he  called  their  attention  to  the  fact  that 
the  "Army  of  the  Potomac"  was  the  "finest  army 
on  this  planet,"  and  that  when  he  put  them  on  the 
south  bank  of  the  Rappahannock,  General  Lee's 
artriy  "must  either  ingloriously  fly,  or  come  out 
from  behind  their  defences  and  give  us  battle  on 
our  own  ground,  where  certain  destruction  awaits 
them."  All  of  which  sounded  to  us  a  good  deal 
like  the  programme  laid  down  by  Major-General  J. 
Pope,  of  bombastic  memory.  After  the  affair  near 
Harrisonburg,   in  the  Valley,   when  Col.  Sir  Percy 


How  a  One-Legged  Rebel  Lives.  133 

Wyndham  had  assumed  the  special  business  of 
"bagging  Ashby,"  and  in  putting  the  matter  into 
execution,  had,  by  failure  of  some  part  of  the  ar- 
rangement, been  snugly  bagged  himself;  one  of 
Ashby' s  staff,  who  had  been  a  prisoner  at  Colonel 
Wyndham's  headquarters,  and  heard  his  boasting 
declarations  of  how  he  was  going  to  do  it,  made  his 
escape,  rejoined  General  Ashby  and  gave  him  a  full 
account  of  Sir  Percy's  actings  and  doings  at  the 
time  he  started  on  his  "bagging  expedition." 

Ashby  remarked,  "it  is  bad  habit  m  a  com- 
mander to  boast  of  what  he  is  going  to  do — espe- 
cially when  he  doesrt  t  do  it. ' ' 

"Fighting  Joe"  was  no  such  commander  as  the 
great  Julius  C.  Pope,  however,  for  he  made  no  wai 
on  the  women  and  children  of  the  country,  domi- 
nated by  "the  finest  army  on  the  planet."  He 
said  their  situation  was  bad  enough,  surrounded  as 
they  were  by  the  unavoidable  discomforts  naturally 
inhering  to  a  state  of  war,  without  bringing  the 
persecuting  power  of  a  military  rule  to  bear  upon 
them;  which  sentiment  contravens  those  of  General 
Tecumseh  Sherman,  when  marching  through  Geor- 
gia, after  armed  resistance  to  his  legion  had  ceased. 
His  men  burned  all  houses,  and  destroyed  every- 
thing they  could  not  carry  away,  leaving  the  hjelp- 
less  people  utterly  destitute;  and,  when  appealed 
to  on  the  plea  of  common  humanity,  he  replied: 
"War  is  cruelty  and  you  cannot  refine  it." 


1B4  How  a  One- Legged  Rebel  Lives. 

General  Hooker  commenced  to  move  his  army  on 
Monday,  April  27th,  1863,  and>  °f  course,  we  gen- 
erals knew  all  about  it  immediately;  and  were 
wide-awake.  We  wished  much  that  our  "Old 
Warhorse,"  General  Longstreet,  might  be  with  us; 
but  as  he  was  campaigning  in  Tennessee  with  his 
veteran  corps  of  the  centre,  we  decided  to  use  what 
we  had,  and  as  the  boys  said — "give  them  the  best 
we  had  in  the  shop." 

We  had  been  through  the  swamps  of  the  Chicka- 
hominy,  and  ranged  in  many  lands,  but  the  Spott- 
sylvania  Wilderness  was  the  worst  for  a  battle 
ground  that  had  been  presented  to  us  up  to  this 
time. 

Chancellorsville  itself,  consisted  of  a  large  brick 
mansion  with  ample  wings;  and  in  the  days  of 
"Auld  Lang  Syne"  had  been  used  as  a  tavern  for 
the  entertainment  of  travelers  journeying  to  and 
from  the  busy  town  of  Fredericksburg,  which  rated 
then  as  one  of  the  most  prominent  business  centres 
of  the  country.  '  'That  was  all  the  town  of  Chancel- 
lorsville, just  one  house  and  the  out-buildings.  In 
front  were  extensive  fields,  but  towards  the  river 
was  the  wilderness — dense,  impassible  for  miles,  and 
the  most  mournful  appearing  country,  especially  at 
night,  I  had  ever  seen  ;  and  it  seemed  a  good  place 
to  die  in,  where  the  interminable  shadows  twined 
and  laced  with  the  mournful,  melancholy  piping  of 


How  a  One-Legged  Rebel  Lives.  135 

the  whippowill ;  and  many  a  poor  fellow  did  breathe 
out  his  life  in  those  gloomy  shades,  with  the  weird 
requiem  of  "whippowill"  rilling  all  the  space  of 
sound  about  him. 

General  Lee  had  to  check  Hooker's  march  more 
by  generalship  and  strategy  than  by  righting,  for 
he  hadn'  t  enough  men  to  meet  him  in  the  field.  We 
soldiers  of  Dixie  never  set  »up  any  claim  that  the 
Army  of  the  Potomac  wouldn't  fight.  That  army 
would  fight ;  always  fought,  and  fought  hard.  They 
knew  they  had  the  advantage  of  numbers,  but  they 
also  knew  that  they  were  badly  handled  by  their 
generals ;  a  knowledge  that  will  take  the  heart  out 
of  a  soldier  quicker  than  want  of  ammunition  ;  but 
they  jlrove  right  on,  and  I  doubt  if  any  other  two 
commanders  than  Robert  E.  Lee  and  "Stonewall" 
Jackson,  could  have  taken  their  sixty-seven  thousand 
men  and  beaten  the  one  hundred  and  fifty-nine 
thousand  three  hundred  troops  of  "Fighting"  Jo 
Hooker's  Army  ;  and  Major-General  Peck  of  the 
United  States  Arm}7,  gives  that  as  their  number. 

No  finer  body  of  troops  could  be  wished  for  by  a 
general  than  Hooker  then  commanded,  nor  could  it 
possibly  be  better  equipped — arms  of  every  descrip- 
tion, of  the  latest  and  most  approved  styles  and 
kinds  :  and  from  the  smallest  items  of  clothings,  all 
through  the  several  departments  of  commissary, 
quartermaster,  ordnance,  engineer,  medical,  nothing 


186         How  a  One- Legged  Rebel  Lives. 

that  the  most  lavish  expenditure  of  money,  with  open 
ports  through  which  to  draw  from  all  the  world, 
was  lacking  to  fit  the  grand  army  for  this  final 
struggle,  as  it  was  then  thought  to  be  ;  for  it  was 
pretty  generally  understood  that  Lee's  army  was 
the  backbone  of  the  Confederacy,  and  that  broken, 
the  collapse  would  be  inevitable. 

Now  back  to  "Stonewall"  again,  for  the  last  time, 
May  the  2,  1863.  My  regiment  was  not  with  Jack- 
son in  this  fight,  it  began  with  that  gallant  and 
stubborn  old  fighting  soldier,  General  Jubal  A.  Barly 
who,  with  his  divisions,  was  at  Fredericksburg, 
holding  Sedgwick's  in  check  at  that  point.  It 
seems  to  have  been  Hooker's  design  to  demonstrate 
on  our  right  with  his  army  of  General  Sedgswick, 
consisting  of  the  1st,  3d  and  6th  corps,  "Army  of 
the  Potomac,"  including  General  Lee  to  suppose 
that  the  main  movement  was  to  be  from  that  direc- 
tion, and  after  getting  Lee  to  concentrate  at  Freder- 
icksburg, he  (General  Hooker)  would  move  to 
Kelly's  Ford,  twenty-seven  miles  above,  with  the 
corps  of  Meade,  Howard,  Slocum  and  Couch,  cross 
the  Rapidan  at  Ely's  and  Germanna  Fords,  turn 
Lee's  left  and  strike  for  Gordonsville,  thus  compell- 
ing our  army  to  retreat  rapidly  on  Richmond  with 
General  Sedgwick  in  pursuit ;  and  to  render  his 
victory  more  certain,  he  sent  General  Stoneman  with 
ten  thousand  cavalry  on  a  raid  towards  Richmond 


How  a  One-Legged  Rebel  Lives.  137 

to  cut  and  break  up  General  Lee's  railroad  commu- 
nication, and  now  he  announced  to  his  troops  that 
"the  Rebel  army  is  the  legitimate  property  of  the 
Army  of  the  Potomac."  I  suppose  everybody  has 
heard  schoolboys  quarrel,  and  noticed  that  just  on 
the  edge  of  a  fight  over  a  game  of  marbles  one  or 
the  other  would  pipe  up  in  a  high-keyed  tone,  uYou 
don't  know  who  you're  foolin'  with  !"  And  that 
comes  pretty  near  expressing  the  condition  of  "Fight- 
ing Jo. ' '  He  didn'  t  know  who  he  was  fooling  with. 
One  of  the  chief  "maxims  of  Napoleon"  was  that 
"the  first  necessity  of  a  general  is  to  study  the  char- 
acter of  his  opponent,"  and  by  this  we  know  that 
Hooker  was  deficient  in  generalship,  for  he  should 
by  this  time  have  been  sufficiently  acquainted  with 
the  character  of  Lee  to  understand  that  he  could  not 
be  cheated  by  such  bungling  strategy  as  was  now 
displayed,  and  further,  when  after  he  had  entrenched 
himself  at  Chancellorsville,  he  learned  that  "Stone- 
wall" Jackson  with  a  heavy  force  was  in  retreat 
towards  Gordonsville,  he  should  have  judged  that 
movement  by  Jackson's  character  as  it  had  been 
developed  in  the  war,  and  he  would  have  understood 
perfectly  what  was  brewing,  for  he  knew  that 
"retreat  without  a  battle"  was  no  part  of  the  man  of 
Kernstown's  philosophy,  and  that  the  soldier  who 
had  flanked  McClellan  out  of  the  Chickahominy  and 
Pope  from  the  Rappahannock,  would  be  quite  likely 
to  attempt  the  same  strategy  against  General  Hooker. 


138         How  a  One- Legged  Rebel  Lives. 

A  Northern  journal  of  that  time,  criticising  Gen- 
eral Hooker's  movements  in  the  Chancellorsville 
campaign,  says  that  "if  General  L,ee  had  furnished 
General  Hooker  with  a  plan  it  could  not  have  been 
more  to  his  liking,  for  he  concentrated  first  on 
Hooker  and  then  on  Sedgwick,  beating  both  by 
detail." 

A.  colonel  in  Hooker's  army,  who  was  captured 
and  sent  to  Richmond  after  this  battle  related  that 
just  before  Jackson's  guns  opened  on  their  flank,  and 
while  they  were  talking  about  his  retreat  to  Gor- 
dousville  the  surgeon  of  the  colonel's  regiment  offered 
to  bet  a  hundred  dollars  that  "Jackson  would  turn 
up  in  the  rear."  The  colonel  at  once  took  the  bet, 
firmly  believing  that  such  a  move  was  utterly  impos- 
sible, but  it  had  hardly  been  closed-  when  firing 
broke  out  "in  the  rear,"  the  "Rebel  yell"  came 
ringing  above  the  din  of  battle,  "Howard's  Flying 
Dutchmen"  broke  like  horses  from  the  woods,  a 
a  ragged  Confederate  demanded  the  Colonel's  sur- 
render, and  the  surgeon  claimed  the  stakes. 

I  shall  not  attempt  any  account  of  this  battle,  for 
I  was  on  the  right,  and  I  know  that  General  Early 
hampered  General  Sedgwick — eight  thousand  of  us 
against  twenty-four  thousand  "boys  in  blue" — long 
enough  for  General  Jackson  to  break  up  Hooker's 
lines  and  for  General  Lee  to  drive  them  over  the 
river  and  then  come  down  to  us,  and  then  Sedgwick, 


How  a  One- Legged  Rebel  Lives.  139 

when  the  night  got  dark  enough  to  conceal  his 
movements,  retreated,  by  Banks'  Ford  across  the 
Rappahannock.  The  battle  was  over  and  the  vic- 
tory was  ours,  but  it  cost  us  dear. 

Out  of  our  army  we  had  lost  in  killed,  wounded 
and  captured,  ten  thousand,  two  hundred  and  eighty- 
one — fully  one-fourth  of  what  we  had,  while  Hooker's 
loss  was  seventeen  thousand,  one  hundred  and 
ninetv-seven. 

But  worse  than  all  we  had  lost  our  General  and 
hero,  our  idol — "Stonewall  the  Great"  was  gone 
from  us  forever,  and  the  army  was  in  mourning  for 
the  victory  that  had  cost  us  our  chief  treasure.  We 
had  only  one  "Stonewall,"  and  we  could  not  give 
him  up.  We  wept  for  our  loss  ;  no  soldier  thought 
of  pity  for  Jackson  ;  the  soldiers  left  behind  were 
more  needy  of  sympathy.  No  man  said  "poor  Jack- 
son," or  grieved  for  him  in  sympathy.  He  was  the 
"Great,"  the  "Glorious,"  the  "Triumphant,"  walk- 
ing with  his  God  beyond  the  gates  of  paradise,  but 
we  were  the  bereaved  ;  our  staff  was  broken  and  our 
hearts  were  sad.  Better  it  was  for  our  General — we 
believed — to  go  hence  and  be  at  rest ;  but  woe  hung 
over  our  souls  like  a  cloud,  and  we  could  not  see  the 
light  beyond  as  we  can  see  it  now.  Let  us  put 
twice  two  together  and  see  if  they  make  four.  Gen- 
eral Lee  said — not  long  before  his  death — that  if  he 
could  have  had  Jackson  with  him  at  Gettysburg  he 


140         How  a  One- Legged  Rebel  Lives. 

would  have  beaten  General  Meade's  army,  and 
Southern  independence  would  have  been  established; 
and  it  is  universally  conceded  that  such  a  result 
would  have  surely  followed  a  Southern  victory 
there. 

Count  that  two.  Now  take  Mayor  Hewitt  of  New 
York  city,  in  the  year  of  grace,  1888.  He  says,  "it 
was  the  South,  and  not  trf%  North  that  won  in  the 
war  between  the  States."  Maybe  the  old  Confed- 
erates will  not  agree  with  him,  but  thev  would  if 
they  could  realize  the  immense  progress  the  South 
has  made,  to  the  detriment  of  the  North,  since  and 
in  consequence  of  their  surrender,  and  would  con- 
clude that  the  Secessionists,  after  all,  ubuilded  better 
than  they  knew. "  Another  broad-minded  Northern 
man  says,  in  a  speech  at  a  dinner  given  by  the 
Southern  Society,  at  New  York,  on  the  22d  of  Feb- 
ruary, this  year : 

UI  have  heard  your  fight  spoken  of  as  the  'Lost 
Couse. '  It  has  paid  you  better  than  any  other  cause. 
The  South  never  lost  its  cause.  When  everything 
the  South  held  most  dear  was  swept  away,  and  you 
were  sweeping  in  the  valley  of  the  shadow  of  death, 
you  came  to  the  resurrection  which  is  making  the 
South  the  garden  of  this  land  ;  which  is  filling  it 
with  wealth  won  by  the  labor  of  freemen  and  not  of 
slaves.  You  never  knew  what  you  had  until  you 
lost  the  frail  crop  on  which  you  had  planted  all  yo'ur 


How  a  One- Legged  Rebel  Lives.  141 

fortunes.  God  had  filled  your  land  with  every  ele- 
ment of  wealth,  but  it  remained  undeveloped  in  the 
presence  of  the  blight  which  you  neither  understood 
nor  realized.  Now  you  have  turned  your  attention 
to  the  resources  which  God  has  given  you,  and  the 
"irrepressible  conflict"  is  taking  a  new  shape.  It  is 
a  conflict  between  the  manufacturing  States  of  the 
North  and  the  Southland  victory  is  already  perch- 
ing on  your  banners,  and  before  the  lapse  of  the 
century  the  Southern  States  will  far  outstrip  Penn- 
sylvania and  the  manufacturing  States  of  the  North. 
It  was  the  North  that  lost  by  the  outcome  of  the 
rebellion,  not  you;  the  victory , of  the  North  was, 
in  reality,  its  defeat." 

That  is  the  other  two.      Add  'em  up? 

But  we  still  have  our  "Stonewall"  in  memory's 
heart,  as  he  lived,  fought,  prayed  and  died  for  the 
independence  of  the  Southern  land  :  died  at  the 
precise  moment  of  time  and  under  the  exact  circum- 
stances best  calculated  to  perpetuate  his  glory  and 
lame,  which  today  belongs  to  our  common  country, 
North  and  South,  and  we,  his  old  veterans,  were 
proud  when  at  the  unveiling  of  his  statue  in  Rich- 
mond, on  the  27th  of  October,  1875,  an  almost 
universal  congratulation  came  to  us  from  our  North- 
ern brethren,  and  such  words  as  these,  from  the 
Cincinnati  Enquirer,  were  echoed  from  the  North- 
ern press  : 


142         How  a  One-Legged  Rebel  Lives. 

uIn  truth,  the  character  of  Stonewall  Jackson 
lifts  him  above  the  narrow  confines  of  State  or  even 
National  limits.  His  military  genius  elevates  him 
among  the  great  soldiers  of  the  world,  among  the 
select  few  who  belong  to  the  universal  history  of 
mankind.  He  was  one  of  the  few  born  soldiers 
with  whom  the  conduct  of  battle  was  an  inspira- 
tion, and  whose  prophetic  eye  always  fixed  upon 
the  issue  of  a  struggle  as  a  certainty.  Such  men 
are  too  rare  to  be  confined  within  the  narrow  pages 
of  local  history,  too  grand  to  be  repressed  by  the 
weight  of  sectional  hostility.  They  assert  their 
right  to  universal  appreciation  and  honor.  We  are 
rapidly  approaching  the  point  when  all  of  us,  both 
North  and  South,  can  honor  and  respect  a  great 
name,  no  matter  on  which  side  it  came  to  distinc- 
tion." 

I  find  I  am  using  too  much  space  for  the  limits 
of  my  little  book,  and  will  add  but  little  more, 
although  my  idea  of  the  story  I  have  to  tell  is 
barely  half  developed,  but  I  propose  to  give  after 
awhile  the  balance  of  the  story,  and  trust  to  a 
generous  public  to  aid  the  one-legged  Rebel  still 
further  along  his  life  journey. 


How  a  One- Legged  Rebel  Lives.  143 

CHAPTER  XL 

My  closing  chapter  of  this  section  of  my  story  of 
"How  a  One-Legged  Rebel  Lives,"  would  not  be 
complete  without  some  personal  reminiscence,  and 
I  recall  a  true  story  of  dismay  and  death  which,  to 
my  then  excited  imagination,  gave  my  life  upon 
the  altar  of  the  bloody  god  of  war,  during  the  battle 
ot  Sharpsburg.  In  the  progress  of  that  all-day, 
busy  battle,  the  color-bearer  of  my  regiment  was 
shot  down,  and  I,  with  some  difficulty,  detached 
the  death -grip  of  his  stiffening  fingers  from  the  staff 
and,  raising  the  colors,  carried  them  forward  in 
their  proper  place,  in  the  center  of  our  line. 

As  we  advanced  I  came  upon  a  canteen  which 
had  been  dropped  by  some  one,  and  quickly  snatch- 
ing it  up,  found  it  was  filled,  and  with  the  fine 
instinct  which  distinguished  the  average  Confederate 
soldier,  concluded  that  it  would  be  a  very  laudable 
scheme  to  convey  that  canteen  and  contents  to  where 
I  was  going,  and  so  slinging  its  strap-  over  my 
shoulder,  I  pressed  forward,  and  soon  after  was 
dropped  by  a  bullet.  I  made  an  examination  as 
soon  as  I  could,  and  by  the  quantity  of  blood  flow- 
ing from  my  wounded  side,  was  thoroughly  satisfied 
that  my  wound  was  mortal  and  my  time  short. 

I  grew  rapidly  weaker,  and  after  awhile  a  friend 
came  to  me  with  the  intention  of  assisting  me  far 
enough  ^towards  the  rear  to  get  me  in  reach  of  a 


144  How  a  One- Legged  Rebel  Lives. 

surgeon,  but  I  was,  by  this  time,  too  weak  to  be 
moved  in  any  other  manner  than  on  a  stretcher, 
and  my  friend  proceeded  to  try  his  surgical  skill  in 
checking  the  flow  of  blood.  A  short  examination 
of  the  wound  brought  from  him  some  decidedly 
emphatic  language,  and  soon  he  assured  me  that  I 
wasn't  wounded  at  all,  except  in  the  canteen,  and 
so  it  proved,  for  a  bullet  had  gone  through  that 
canteen,  and  its  contents,  running  down  my  side 
clear  to  my  shoes,  gave  me,  in  connection  with  the 
shock,  the  impression  that  it  was  life-blood,  when, 
in  reality,  the  canteen  had  been  full  of  molasses. 
It  was  long  before  the  boys  gave  up  their  chaff 
about  blood  and  molasses. 

Since  the  war  I  have  had  many  hard  knocks  in 
my  efforts  to  get  a  living,  sometimes  succeeding 
fairly,  but  often  the  reverse.  Yet  still  I  managed 
it  somehow.  One  venture,  by  aid  of  friends,  was 
successful  beyond  my  most  sanguine  expectations, 
and  I  was  in  a  fair  way  to  achieve  a  competency — 
furnishing  supplies  and  running  a  boarding  house 
on  the  Chesapeake  and  Ohio  Railroad,  but  in  the 
full  tide  of  success  the  contractors  failed,  the  hands 
were  left  without  pay,  and  my  last  dollar  was  swept 
away,  but  I  paid  my  obligations  with  one  hundred 
cents  to  the  dollar. 

I  rilled  the  office  of  constable  for  a  considerable 
time,  and  my  experience  in  that  line  was  mixed 


How  a  One-Legged  Rebel  Lives.  145 

With  dark  and  bright  color,  but  the  gilding  was 
scarce.  I  doubt  if  many  country  constables,  in 
Virginia,  ever  achieved  great  wealth  of  sheckles. 
)  My  best  success  has  been  in  traveling  with  books, 
and  I  have  found  kind  friends  and  much  sympathy 
wherever  I  have  gone,  many,  I  know,  only  taking 
a  book  from  me  to  help  the  one-legged  Rebel,  and 
many  a  hearty  reception  have  I  met  from  the  old 
veterans  of  the  Northern  army.  "The  bravest  are 
the  tenderest;  the  loving  are  the  daring,"  and  it  is 
easy  to  read  the  character  of  a  soldier  by  his  treat- 
ment of  the  maimed  victims  of  the  war.  True,  I 
have  met  many  veterans  who  were  on  the  down 
grade,  and  had  little  to  help  themselves  with,  but 
the  hearty  hand  grasp  and  sympathetic  greeting 
showed  the  soul  within  to  be  of  the  dauntless  host 
of  gallant  soldiers  of  America,  who  believed  that  it 
was  blessed  to  die  for  the  right,  and  would  go  at 
blazing  batteries,  if  necessary. 

I  have  found  much  kindness  among  the  visitors 
to>  and  patrons  of,  the  various  watering  places  and 
summer  resorts  which  I  have  canvassed,  and  always 
regardless  of  section  or  politics;  but  I  must  tell  of 
a  gentleman  from  Michigan,  whom  I  met  in  War- 
renton,  Va.,  a  few  weeks  ago.  He  was  an  old 
soldier  from  the  "Wolverine"  State,  who  had  seen 
much  service,  but,  in  bad  health,  was  wintering  in 
Virginia,  and  hearing  of  me,  made  me  a  call,  and 


146         How  a  One- Legged  Rebel  Lives. 

we  had  many  pleasant,  social  and  friendly  chats. 
He  made  himself  friends  all  aroundx  and  although 
much  of  the  conversation  was  in  regard  to  the  war, 
and  that,  too,  in  the  extreme  ultra-southern  town 
of  Warrenton,  the  capital  of  Mosby's  Confederacy, 
and  called  by  the  great  General  Pope  the  "South 
Carolina  of  Virginia."  Yet  my  Michigan  friend 
came  out  ahead  nearly  every  round.  One  day  a 
number  of  us,  he  among  the  rest,  were  discussing 
the  war  and  fighting  our  battles  over  again,  when 
"Michigan"  remarked  that  he  had  killed  a  &ebel 
in  the  Valley,  at  the  given  date  then  under  discus- 
sion. This  brought  out  a  somewhat  indignant 
remark  from  a  young  man  in  the  party,  who 
demanded  the  particulars.  "Well,  sir,"  said 
"Michigan,"  "I  was  over  in  the  Shenandoah  Val- 
ley with  Sheridan,  in  1864,  an^  I  did  the  killing  in 
one  of  our  battles  with  General  Early.  It  was  on 
a  very  hot,  dry  day  in  August,  and  my  regiment 
was  trying  to  hold  a  ridge  in  an  open  field,  about  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  in  front  of  a  woods.  The  Rebels 
were  pressing  us  hotly;  which,  together  with  the 
weather  and  want  of  water,  made  our  situation  very 
distressing,  and  when  they  finally  advanced  upon 
us  with  fixed  bayonets,  we  jumped  up  and  made 
for  the  wcods.  A  Rebel  soldier,  .who  appeared  to 
me  to  be  about  nine  feet  high,  with  a  gun  and 
bayonet  the  full   length  of  a  fence  rail,  was  about 


How  a  One- Legged  Rebel  Lives.  147 

twenty  yards  from  me  when  I  started  from  the 
ridge,  and  on  my  rapid  retreat  to  the  woods  I  could 
hear  his  feet  pounding  the  ground  behind  me,  and 
apparently  getting  closer  to  me.  I  put  on  all  the 
steam  my  boiler,  would  carry,  for  I  particularly 
didn't  fancy  the  contact  with  that  enormous  bay- 
onet, which  the  Rebel  evidently  intended  to  use  on 
me,  and  I  fairly  flew.  Pretty  soon  I  noticed  that 
his  foot-falls  were  growing  more  indistinct,  and 
with  hope  renewed,  I  glanced  back  at  him.  That 
glance  revealed  to  me  my  opportunity,  for  over- 
come with  the  heat  and  rapid  locomotion,  which 
my  speed  made  it  necessary  for  him  to  use,  he  was 
just  in  the  act  of  falling  to  the  ground,  and  I  then 
realized  for  the  first  time  that  I  had  killed  a  Rebel. 
He  dropped  stone-dead,  and  I  reached  the  timber  in 
safety.  My  comrades  said  the  man  ran  himself  to 
death,  trying  to  catch  me,  but  I  shall  always  con- 
tend that  I  killed  him  with  that  last  spurt." 

I  myself  have  cause  to  remember  campaigning  in 
the  Valley  in  1864,  f°r  ^  was  at  the  battle  of  Cedar 
Creek,  on  the  19th  of  October,  that  I  received- the 
wound  which  made  me  a  one-legged  Rebel.  At 
this  time  I  was  acting  as  a  courier  for  Gen.  John 
Pegram,  commanding  Early's  old  division,  and  this 
battle,  sometimes,  called  Belle  Grove,  was  one  of 
the  most  singular  of  the  war.  General  Early  planned 
it  in  order  to  prevent  General  Sheridan  from  send- 


148  How  a  One- Legged  Rebel  Lives. 

ing  troops  to  Grant  at  Petersburg,  and  because  of 
Sheridan's  enormous  superiority  in  numbers,  he 
was  compelled  to  operate  by  a  surprise  flank  move- 
ment, which,  in  conception  and  execution,  was 
equal  to  the  most  brilliant  of  Stonewall  Jackson's 
pieces  of  strategy,  and  was  completely  successful  in 
the  early  part  of  it,  our  boys  gallantly  driving  three 
corps  of  the  enemy  (the  6th,  8th  and  19th)  clear  out 
of  their  camps,  capturing  fifteen  hundred  prisoners 
and  eighteen  pieces  of  artillery.  The  surprise  was 
complete,  and  the  Yankee  boys  fled  in  panic  along 
the  Valley  pike,  with  General  Early  pressing  them 
with  their  own  artillery,  but  our  soldiers  failed  to 
stick  to  their  colors,  and  so  many  of  them  left  their 
ranks  to  plunder  the  rich  stores  of  the  captured 
camps  that  the  enemy,  under  the  gallant  General 
Wright,  had  the  opportunity  to  rally  in  front  of 
Middletown,  and  by  11  o'clock  had  brought  up 
enough  troops  to  move  on  us,  and  then  these  strag- 
glers and  plunderers  of  ours  came  to  grief. 

Wright's  men  recovered  their  camps,  and  their 
cavalry  pursued  our  men  so  closely  that  they  were 
forced  to  retreat  to  Strasburg.  All  the  success  of 
the  morning  had  been  lost,  and  for  the  first  time  in 
the  whole  war  a  victory  almost  won  had  been 
thrown  away  by  the  misconduct  of  Southern 
soldiers.  Owing  to  the  breaking  down  of  a  bridge 
at  the  very  narrow  part  of  the  road  between  Stras- 


How  a   One-Legged  Rebel  Lives.  149 

burg  and  Fisher's  Hill,  just  above  Strasburg,  where 
there  was  no  other  passway,  all  the  artillery, 
ordnance  wagons  and  ambulances  which  had  not 
passed  that  point,  were  captured  by  a  small  body  of 
Sheridan's  cavalry,  our  force,  which  would  have 
defended  and  brought  them  out,  having  been  broken 
when  the  gallant  Ramseur  was  killed. 

This  battle  ended  my  campaigning  for  that  war, 
after  passing  through  the  mill,  and  after  receiving 
my  severe  wound  that  afterwards  caused  the  ampu- 
tation of  my  right  leg. 

The  boys  in  the  hospitals  had  their  jokes  on  the 
surgeons,  and  this  propensity  for  joking  and  fun 
among  our  soldiers,  was  worth  almost  as  much  as 
medicine.  One  case  they  reported  was  that  of  a 
man  brought  in,  dangerously  wounded  in  three 
places.  After  the  examination  by  the  surgeon,  an 
assistant  asked:  "Doctor,  is  the  man  badly  hurt?" 
"Yes,"  said  the  surgeon,  "two  of  the  wounds  are 
mortal,  but  the  third  can  be  cured,  provided  the 
man  is  kept  perfectly  quiet  for  six  weeks." 


CHAPTER  XII. 

As  a  matter  of  interest  to  the  old  veterans  of  the 
war,  into  whose  hands  this  little  book  may  fall,  I 
append  here  the  battles  fought  in  Virginia,  together 
with  the   rosters  of  the   two    great    armies  which 


150  How  a  One- Legged  Rebel  Lives. 

contended  at  Gettysburg,  that  being  generally 
conceded  to  be  the  decisive  battle. 

We  understand  that  at  the  opening  of  the  cam- 
paign the  two  armies  were  more  evenly  matched, 
as  to  numbers^  than  at  any  other  period  of  the  war, 
and  from  the  best  obtainable  information  that 
General  Hooker  had  a  force  of  eighty  thousand 
infantry  divided  into  seven  corps.  So  he  himself 
wrote  to  President  Lincoln,  and  proudly  called  it 
"the  finest  army  on  the  planet." 

General  Lee's  army,  by  the  last  of  May,  had 
seventy  thousand  infantry — in  three  corps — and  ten 
thousand  cavalry,  and,  as  General  Longstreet 
expressed  it,  uwas  in  a  condition  to  undertake 
anything." 

The  actual  force  of  General  Lee's  army  at  Gettys- 
burg, after  making  details  to  guard  the  lines  of 
communication,  etc.,  was  about  sixty-two  thousand 
men ;  and  General  Meade,  by  the  aid  of  re-enforce- 
ments, brought  forward  by  stress  of  the  invasion, 
numbered  about  one  hundred  and  twelve  thousand. 


How  a  One- Legged  Rebel  Lives.  151 


RELATIVE  NUMBERS   IN  BOTH  ARMIES. 

Number  of  white  males  in  the  Northern  States  in 

1861  subject  to  military  duty, 4,559,872 

Number  of  colored  troops  enrolled, 99,337 

Xumber  of  white  troops  from  Southern  {Spates  in 

TJ.  S.  Army, 86,009 

Number  of  Indians  in  TJ.  S.  Army, 3,530 

4,748,748 

Number  of  white  males  in  the  Southern 
States  subject  to  military  duty  in 
1861 1,064,193 

Number  of  troops  from  Northern  States  en- 
rolled in  Confederate  Army, 19,000 

1,083,193 

Number  in  Union  Army  and  subject  to  enrollment 

over  and  above  the  Southern  States, 13,665,555 

It  will  be  seen  from  the  reports  in  the  War  Department  at 
Washington,  that  there  was  a  vast  difference  between  the 
two  armies  as  to  numbers. 

The  Union  Army  is  put  at  the  enormous  figures  of.. .2, 800, 000 
The  Confederate  Army  at  the  small  number, 600,000 

A  total  in  favor  of  U.  S.  Army, 2,200,000 

With  this  difference  in  numbers,  the  war  lasted  only  four 
years,  as  all  the  Confederate  ports  were  blockaded,  and  the 
Confederacy  was  not  able  to  recruit  from  Europe,  Asia  and 
Africa,  and  the  islands  of  the  seas. 


152         How  a  One-Legged  Rebel  Lives. 

RECORDS  OF  BATTLES  IN  VIRGINIA. 

Abingdon,  Glade  Springs,  Saltville  and  Marion  (Stone- 
man's  Raid),  December  12  to  21,  1864. 

Aldie,  June  17,  1863. 

Amelia  Springs,*  near  Amelia  Court-house,   April  3,  1865. 

Annandale,  December  4,  1861. 

Appomattox  Courthouse,  Lee  Surrenders,  April  9,  1865. 

Arthur's  Swamp,  October  1,  1864. 

Auburn,  October  14,  1863. 

Ball's  Bluff  (near  Leesburg),  October  21,  1861. 

Ball's  Cross  Roads,  August  27,  1861. 

Barboursville,  July  12,  1861. 

Barnett's  Ford,  February  7.  1864. 

Beaver  Dam  Station,  South  Anna  Bridge,  Ashland  and 
Yellow  Tavern,  Sheridan's  Cavalry  Raid  in  Virginia,  May 
9  to  13,  1864. 

Bealeton,  January  14,  1864. 

Bermuda  Hundred,  May  16  to  30,  1864,  June  2,  1864, 
August  24  and  25,  1864,  and  November  17,  1864. 

Berryville,  December  1.  1862,  October  18,  1863,  and  Sep- 
tember 3  and  4,  1864. 

Berryville  Pike,  Sulphur  Springs  Bridge  and  White  Post, 
August  10,  1864. 

Beverly  Ford  and  Brandy  Station,  June  9,  1863. 

Big  Bethel,  June  10,  1861,  and  April  4,  1862. 

Blackburn's  Ford,  July  ]S,  1861. 

Bloomfield  and  Union,  November  2  and  3,  1862. 

Boydton  and  White  Oak  Roads,  March  31,  1865. 

Brandy  Station,  August  20,  1862. 

Brentsville,  February  14,  1863,  and  February  14,  1864. 

Bristoe  Station,  October  14,  1863,  and  April  15,  1864. 

Buckland  Mills,  October  19,  1863. 


How  a   One- Legged  Rebel  Lives.  15& 

Buckton  Station,  May  23,  1862. 

Buford's  Gap,  June  21,  1864. 

Bull  Run  Bridge,  August  27,  1862. 

Bull  Run  or  Manassas,  July  21 ,  1861,  and  August  30, 1862. 

Burke's  Station,  March  10,  1862. 

Camp  Advance,  Munson's  Hill,  September  29,  1861. 

Cedar  Creek,  Sheridan's  Ride,  October  16,  1864. 

Cedar  Mountain,  or  Mitchell's  Station,  August  9,  1862. 
•    Chancellorsville,  May  1  to  4,  1863. 

Chantilly,  September  1,  1862. 

Chickahominy,  May  24,  1862,  June  27,  1862. 

City  Point,  Naval  Engagement  on  James  River,  May  6,. 
1861,  Explosion,  August  9,  1864. 

Chester  Station,  May  6  and  7,  1864. 

Clendennin's  Raid,  below  Fredericksburg,  May  20  to  28, 
1863. 

Coggin's  Ponft,  Jul>  31,  1862. 

Cold  Harbor,  Gaines'  Mill,    Salem  Church,    and  Hawe's 
Shop,  June  1  to  12,  1864. 

Coyle  Tavern,  August  24,  1863. 

Crooked  Run,  Front  Royal,  August  16,  1864. 

Cross  Keys,  or  Union  Church,  June  8,  1862. 

Culpepper,  July  12,  1862,  and  September  13,  1863. 

Culpepper  and  White  Sulphur  Springs.  October  12  and  13, 
1863. 

Dalmey's  Mills,  Hatcher's  Run,  February  5  to  7,  1865. 

Darbytown  Road,  October  7,  and  13,  1864. 

Deserted  House  or  Kelley's  Store,  January,  30,  1863. 

Dinwiddie  C.  H.,  March  31,  1865. 

Drainesville,   November  26,    1861,    December   20,  1861, 
February  22,  1864. 

Dumfries,  December  27,  1862. 

Dutch  Gap,  Naval  Engagement,  June  21,  1864. 


154         How  a  One- Legged  Rebel  Lives. 

Dutch  Gap,  August  5,  1863. 

Fairfax  C.  H.,  (near  Alexandria),  June  1,  1861,  and  March 
8,  1863. 
Fair  Oaks,  October  27  and  28,  1864. 

Fall  of  Richmond,  April  3,  1865. 

Falmouth,  April  18,  1862. 

Farmville,  April  7,  1865. 

Fisher's  Hill,  August  15,  1864. 

Five  Forks,  April  1,  1865. 

Fort  Darling,  Naval  Engagement,  May  16,  1862. 

Fort  Darling,  Drewry's  Bluff,  May  12  to  16.  1864. 

Franklin's  Crossing,  Rappahannock  river,  June  5,  1863. 

Fredericksburg  and  Salem  Heights,  May  1  to  4,  1863. 

Fredericksburg,  December  13,  1862. 

Front  Royal,  May  23,  1852,  and  May  30, 1862. 

Frazier's  Farm,  June  30,  1862. 

Fort  Hell,  September  10,  1864.        #         * 

Fort  Steadman,  March  25,  1865. 

Gaine's  Mill  or  Cold  Harbor,  June  27,  1862. 

Glendale,  June  30,  1862, 

Gloucester,  November  17,  1862. 

Gordonsville,  December  28, 1864. 

Gravel  Hill,  August  14r  1864. 

Great  Falls,  July  7,  1861. 

Groverton  and  Gainesville,  August  28  and  29,  1862. 

Hampton  Roads  Naval  Battle(with  Monitor  and  Merrimac) 
March  8  and  9,  1862. 

Hampton,  August  7,  1861. 

Hanover  Court-house,  May  27,  1862. 

Hanoverton,  Hawe's  Shop,  and  Salem  Church,  May  27 
and  28,  1864. 

Hanover  and  Ashland,  May  30,  1864. 

Harrisonburg,  June  6,  1862. 


How  a  One-Legged  Rebel  Lives.  155 

Haymarket,  October  18.  1862. 

Hatcher's  rum,  October  27,  and  December  8  and  9,  1864. 

High  Bridge,  on  the  Appomattox  River,  April  6,  1865. 

Jefferson  ton,  October  12,  1863. 

Jones'  Bridge  and  Samaria  Church,  June  23  and  24,  1864. 

jonesville,  January  3,  1864. 

Kelly's  Ford,  March  17,  1863,  and  November  7,  1863. 

Kilpatrick's  Raid,   Stevensburg  to  Richmond  February  28 
to  March  4,  1864. 

Kernstown,  March  23,  1862. 

Lacey's  Springs,  December  20,  1864. 

Laurel  Hill  and  Ny  River,  May  8  to  18,  1864. 

Lee's  Mills,  April  16,  1862,  July  12  and  30,  1864. 

Lewinsville,  September  11,  1861. 

Locust  Grove,  November  26  to  28,  1863. 

Lovettsville,  August  8,  1861. 

Luray,  June  30,  1862. 

Lynchburg,  June  17  and  18,  1864. 

Malvern  Hill,  July  1,  1862. 

Malvern  Hill,  August  5,  1862. 

Manassas  Gap  and  Chester  Gap,  July  21  to  23,  1863. 

Manassas  or  Bull  Run,  July  21,  1861,  and  August  30, 
1862. 

Mason's  Neck,  Occoquan,  February  24,  1862. 

Mattaponi  or  Thorn  burg,  August  6,  1862. 

Matthias  Point,  Potomac  River,  June  27,  1861. 

McDowell,  or  Bull  Pasture,  May  8,  1862. 

McLean's  Ford,  or  Liberty  Mills,  October  15,  1863. 

Mechanicsville,  or  Ellison's  Mills,  June  26,  1862. 

Middletown,  June  11,  1863. 

Mine  Run,  Raccoon  Ford,  New  Hope,  Robertson's  Farmr 
Bartlett's  Mills,  and  Locust  Grove,  November  26  and  28, 
1863. 


156  Hozv  a  One- Legged  Rebel  Lives. 

Monterey  (N.  W.  of  Waynesboro).  April  12,  1862. 
Mount  Jackson,  November  17,  1863. 

Muddy  Run,  November  8,  I  863. 

Near  Snicker's  Gap,  August  13  and  19,  1864. 

Namozine  Church  and  Willicomack,  April  3,  1865. 

Nelson's  Farm,  June  30,  1862. 

New  Market  Crossroads,  June  30,  1862. 

New  Market,  May  15,  and  October  7,  1864. 

New  Market  Heights,  or  Laurel  Hill,  September  28  to  30, 
1864. 

New  Market  Bridge,  December  22,  1861. 

Newport  News,  June  5,  1861. 

Newton  and  Cedar  Springs,  November  12,  1864. 

North  Anna  River,  Jericho  Ford,  or  Taylor's  Bridge,  and 
Totopotomy  Bridge,  May  23  to  27,  1864. 

Occoquan,  March  5,  1862. 

Occaquan  Creek,  November  12,  1861. 

Occoquan  Bridge,  January  29,  1862. 

Old  Church,  June  13,  1862. 

Orange  C.  H.,  August  2,  1862. 

Otter  Creek  (near  Liberty),  June  16,  1864. 

Peach  Orchard,  and  Savage  Station,  June  29,  1862. 

Panther  Gap,  and  Buffalo  Gap,  June  3  to  6,  1864. 

Petersburg  and  vicinity:  Chester  Station,   May  6  and  7, 
1864. 

Petersburg,  June  10,  1864. 

Philomont,  November  1,  1862. 

Poplar  Springs  Church,  October  1,  1864. 

Port  Republic,  June  9,  1862. 

Quaker  Road,  March  23,  1865. 

Rapidan  Station,  September  14,  1863. 

Rapidan  Station,   September  19,  1863,  and  October  10, 
1863. 


How  a  One-Legged  Rebel  Lives.  157 

Rappahannock  Station,  November  7,  1863. 

Rappahannock  Station,  Brandy  Station,  and  Kelly's  Ford 
August  1  to  3,  1863. 

Reams's  Station,  August  25,  1864. 

Rectertown  and  Loudon  Heights,  January  1  to  10,   1864. 

Richmond  and  vicinity:  Fort  Darling  (Naval  Engagement), 
May  15,  1862,  Seven  Pines  and  Fair  Oaks,  May  31  to  June 
1,  1862. 

Robertson's  Farm,  Bartlett's  Mills,  and  Locust  Grove, 
November  26  to  28,  1863. 

Sailor's  Creek,  April  6,  1865. 

Salem,  June  21,  186  4. 

Saltville,  October  2,  1864. 

Samaria  Church,  Malvern  Hill,  June  15,  1864. 

Seven  Pines  and  Fair  Oaks,  May  31  to  June  1,  1862. 

Seige  of  Petersburg.  June  15,  1864,  to  April  2,  1865. 

Six  Miles  Station,  August  18,  19  and  21,  1864. 

Slatersville,  or  New  Kent  C.  H.,  May  9,  1862. 

Snicker's  Gap  and  Island  Ford,  July  16  and  17,  1864. 

Someryille  Heights,  May  7,  1862. 

Spottsylvania  C.  H.,  April  30,  1863. 

Spottsylvania,  Fredericksburg  Road,  Laurel  Hill,  and  Ny 
River,  May  8  to  18,  1864. 

Stanardsville  and  Burton's  Ford,  March  1,  1864. 

Stevenson's  Depot,  Darkville,  and  Winchester,  July  19 
and  20,  1864. 

Stony  Creek  Station,  December  1,  1864. 

Strasburg  and  Staunton  Road,  June  1  and  2,  1862. 

Strasburg,  October  13,  1864. 

Strawberry  Plains  or  Deep  Bottom, 'August  14  to  18,  1864. 

Suffolk  Siege,  from  April  12  to  May  4,  1863. 

Suffolk  Battle,  March  9,  1864. 

Summit  Point,  Berryville,  and  Flowing  Springs,  August 
21,  1864. 


158         How  a  One- Legged  Rebel  Lives. 

Swift  Creek  and  Arrowfield  Church,  May  9  and  10,  3  864. 

Sylvan  Grove,  Waynesboro,  and  Brown's  Crossroads, 
November  26  to  29,  1864. 

Todd's  Tavern,  May  8,  1864. 

Tom's  Brook,  Fisher's  Hill,  and  Strasburg,  October  9t 
1864. 

Trevillian's  Station,  June  11  and  12,  1864. 

Tunstall's  Station,  June  14,  1862. 

Turkey  Bend,  June  30,  1862. 

Upperville,  June  21,  1863. 

Vienna,  June  17,  1861,  December  3,  1861,  and  September 
2,  1862. 

Warrenton  Junction,  May  3,  1863. 

Waterloo  Bridge,  Lee  Springs.  Freeman's  Ford  and  Sul- 
phur Springs,  Skirmishers,  August  23  to  25,  1852. 

Waynesboro,  October  2,  1864. 

Weldon  Railroad  (now  Petersburg  R.  R.).  June  22  to  30y 
1864. 

Weldon  Railroad  Expedition,  December  7  to  11,  1864. 

West  Point,  May  7,  1862. 

White  Oak  Swamp  Bridge,  August  4,  1862  and  June  13r 
1864.  CTC    or; 

White  Oak  Smamn,  Charles  City  Cross  Roads,  June  30, 
1862. 

White  Post,  December  6,  1864. 

Williamsburg,  May  2,  1862,  and  July  11,  1862. 

Williamsburg  Road,  June  18,  1862. 

Wilson's  Wharf,  May  24,  1864. 

Wilderness,  May,  5  to  7,  1864. 

Winchester,  May  25,  1862. 

Winchester  and  Kernstown,  March  23,  1862. 

Winchester,  June  13  and  15.  1863. 

Winchester,  August  17,  1864. 

Winchester,  July  23  and  24,  1864. 

Winchester  and  Fisher's  Hill,  September  19  to  22,  1864. 

Wytheville,  June  17,  1863. 

Yorktown,  April  11  and  26,  1862. 


How  a  One- Legged  Rebel  Lives,  159 

BATTLES  FOUGHT  IN  VIRGINIA. 


Organization  of  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia,  June 
i,  1863 — Gen.  Robert  E.  Lee,  Commanding. 

STAFF. 

Col.  W.  H.  Taylor,  Adjutant-General. 

Col.  C.  S.  Venable,  A.  D.  C. 

Col.  Charles  Marshall,  A.  D.  C. 

Col.  James  h.  Corley,  Chief  Quartermaster. 

Col.  R.  G.  Cole,  Chief  Commissary. 

Col.  B.  G.  Baldwin,  Chief  of  Ordnance. 

Col.  H.  E.  Peyton,  Assistant  Inspector-General. 

Gen.  W.  N.  Pendleton,  Chief  of  Artillery. 

Dr.  Iy.  Guild,  Medical  Director. 

Col.  W.  Porcher  Smith,  Chief  Engineer. 

Maj.  H.  E.  Young,  Assistant  Adjutant- General. 

Maj.  G.  B.  Cook,  Assistant  Inspector-General. 

First  Corps — Lieutenant- General  James  Long  street, 
Commanding. 

m'  laws'   division. 

Maj  or- General  I/.  McL,aws,  commanding. 

Kershaw's  Brigade — Brigadier- General  J.  B.  Ker- 
shaw, commanding;  15th  South  Carolina  regiment, 
Col.  W.  D.  DeSaussure;  8th  South  Carolina,  Col.  J. 
W.  Memminger;  2d  South  Carolina,  Col.  John  D. 
Kennedy;  3d  South  Carolina,  Col.  James  D.  Nance; 
7th  South  Carolina,  Col.  D.  Wyatt  Aiken;  3d  (James) 


160         How  a  One- Legged  Rebel  Lives. 

Battalion,  South  Carolina  Infantry,  lieutenant- Colonel 
R.  C.  Rice. 

Benning's  Brigade — Brigadier- General  H.  L.  Ben- 
ning,  commanding;  50th  Georgia  regiment,  Col.  W.  R. 
Manning;  51st  Georgia  regiment,  Col.W.M.  Slaughter; 
53d  Georgia  regiment,  Col.  Jas.  P.  Simms;  10th  Georgia 
regiment,  Lieutenant- Colonel  John  B.  Weems. 

Barksdale's  Brigade — Brigadier-General  Wm.  Barks- 
dale,  commanding;  13th  Mississippi  regiment,  Col.  J. 
W.  Carter;  17th  Mississippi  regiment,  Col.  W.  D. 
Holder;  18th  Mississippi  regiment,  Col.  Thomas  M. 
Griffin;  21st  Mississippi  regiment,  Col.  B.  G.  Hum- 
phreys. 

Wofford's  Brigade— Brigadier-General  W.  T.  Wof- 
ford,  commanding;  18th  Georgia  regiment,  Maj.  K. 
Griffs;  Phillips'  Georgia  legion,  Col.  W.  M.  Phillips; 
24th  Georgia  regiment,  Col.  Robert  McMillan;  16th 
Georgia  regiment,  Col.  Goode  Bryan;  Cobb's  Georgia 
legion,  Lieutenant- Colonel  L.  D.  Glewn. 

PICKETT'S   DIVISION. 

Major-General  George  K.  Pickett,  commanding. 

Garnett's  Brigade — Brigadier- General  R.  B.Garnett, 
commanding;|8th  Virginia  regiment,  Col.  Kppa  Hun- 
ton;  1 8th  Virginia  regiment,  Col.  R.  E.  Withers;  19th 
Virginia  regiment,  Col.  Henry  Gantt;  28th  Virginia 
regiment,  Col.  R.  C.  Allen;  56th  Virginia  regiment, 
Col.  W.  D.^Stuart. 

Armistead's^Brigade — Brigadier- General  L.  A.  Ar- 
mistead, ^commanding;  9th  Virginia  regiment,  Lieut.  - 
Col.  J.  S.  Gilliam;   14th  Virginia  regiment,  Col.  J.  G. 


How  a  One- Legged  Rebel  Lives.  161 

Hodges;  38th  Virginia  regiment,  Col.  E.  C.  Edmonds; 
53d  Virginia  regiment,  Col.  John  Grammar;  57th  Vir- 
ginia regiment,  Col.  J.  B.  Magruder. 

Kemper's  Brigade — Brigadier- General  J.  1^.  Kemper, 
commanding;  1st  Virginia  regiment,  Col.  I^ewis  B. 
Williams,  Jr. ;  3d  Virginia  regiment,  Col.  Jos.  Mayo, 
Jr.;  7th  Virginia  regiment,  Col.  W.  T.  Patton;  nth 
Virginia  regiment,  Col.  David  Funsten;  24th  Virginia 
regiment,  Col.  W.  R.  Terry. 

Corse's  Brigade — Brigadier- General  M.  D.  Corse, 
commanding;  15th  Virginia  regiment,  Col.  T.  P.  Au- 
gust; 17th  Virginia  regiment,  Col.  Morton  Marye; 
30th  Virginia  regiment,  Col.  A.  T.  Harrison;  32d 
Virginia  regiment,  Col.  B.  B.  Montague  (this  brigade 
was  not  at  Gettysburg,  having  been  left  at  Hanover 
Junction). 

hood's  division. 

Major-General  John  B.  Hood. 

Robertson's  Brigade — Brigadier- General  J.B.Robert- 
son, commanding;  1st  Texas  regiment,  Col.  A.  T. 
Rainey;  4th  Texas  regiment,  Col.  J.  C.  G.  Key;  5th 
Texas  regiment,  Col.  R.  M.  Powell;  3d  Arkansas  regi- 
ment, Col.  Van  H.  Manning. 

L,aws'  Brigade — Brigadier- General  B.  M.  I^aws, 
commanding;  4th  Alabama  regiment,  Col.  P.  A. 
Bowles;  44th  Alabama  regiment,  Col.  W.  H.  Perry; 
15th  Alabama  regiment,  Col.  James  Canty;  47th  Ala- 
bama regiment,  Col.  J.  W.  Jackson;  48th  Alabama 
regiment,  Col.  J.  F.  Shepherd. 

Anderson's  Brigade — Brigadies-General  G.  T.  An- 
6 


162  How  a  One-Legged  Rebel  Lives. 

derson,  commanding;  ioth  Georgia  battalion,  Maj.  J. 
E.  Rylander;  7th  Georgia  regiment,  Col.  W.  M.  White; 
8th  Georgia  regiment,  Lieut. -Col.  J.  R.  Towers;  9th 
Georgia  regiment,  Col.  B.  F.  Beck;  nth  Georgia  regi- 
ment, Col.  F.  H.  Little. 

Jenkins'  Brigade — Brigadier- General  M.  Jenkins, 
commanding;  2d  South  Carolina  Rifles,  Col.  Thomas 
Thompson;  1st  South  Carolina  regiment,  Lieut. -Col. 
David  Livingstone;  5th  South  Carolina  regiment,  Col. 
A.  Coward;  6th  South  Carolina  regiment,  Col.  John 
Bratton;  Hampton's  Legion,  Col.  M.  W.  Gary. 

ARTIIXKRY   OF  THF,   FIRST   CORPS. 

Colonel  J.  B.  Walton,  commanding. 

Battalion— Col.  H.  C.  Cabell,  Major  Hamilton. 

Batteries — McCarty's,  Manly' s,  Carlton's,  Frazer's. 

Battalion — Major  Henry. 

Batteries — Bachman's,  Reilly's,  Latham's, Gordon's. 

Battalion — Major  Dearing,  Major  Reed. 

Batteries — Macon's,  Blount's,  Stribbling's,  Caskie's. 

Battalion — Col.  K.  P.  Alexander,   Major  Huger. 

Batteries — Jordan's,  Rhett's,  Moody's,  Parker's, 
Taylor's. 

Battalion — Major  Kshleman. 

Batteries — Squire's,  Miller's,  Richardson's,  Nor- 
com's. 

Total]number~of  guns — Artillery  First  Corps — 83. 


How  a  One-Legged  Rebel  Lives.  16B 

Second  Corps — Lieutenant- General  Richard  S.   EwelL 

EARIyY'S   DIVISION. 

Major-General  Jubal  A.  Early,  commanding. 

Hays'  Brigade — Brigadier- General  Harry  S.  Hays, 
commanding;  5th  Louisiana  regiment,  Col.  Henry 
Forno;  6th  Louisiana  regiment,  Col.  Wm.  Monaghan; 
7th  Louisiana  regiment,  Col.  D.  B.  Penn;  8th  Louisiana 
regiment,  Col.  Henry  B!  Kelly;  9th  Louisiana  regi- 
ment, Col.  A.  L.  Stafford. 

Gordon's  Brigade — Brigadier- General  J.  B.  Gordon, 
commanding;  13th  Georgia,  Col.  J.  M.  Smith;  26th 
Georgia,  Col.  E.  N.  Atkinson;  31st  Georgia,  Col.  C. 
A.  Evans;  38th  Georgia,  Maj.  J.  D.  Matthews;  60th 
Georgia,  Col.  W.  H.  Stiles;  61st  Georgia,  Col.  J.  H. 
Lamar. 

Smith's  Brigade — Brigadier- General  William  Smith, 
commanding;  13th  Virginia  regiment,  Col.  J.  E.  B. 
Terrell;  31st  Virginia,  Col.  J.  S.  Hoffman;  49th  Vir- 
ginia, Colonel  Gibson;  5 2d  Virginia,  Colonel  Skinner; 
58th  Virginia,  Col.  F.  H.  Board — 13th  Virginia  was 
left  in  Winchester  to  guard  the  stores  captured  from 
Milroy,  and  58th  Virginia  was  left  in  Staunton  to 
guard  prisoners  captured  from  Milroy. 

Hoke's  Brigade — Col.  J.  B.  Avery,  commanding 
(Gen.  R.  F.  Hoke  being  absent,  wounded);  6th  North 
Carolina  regiment,  Col.  J.  E.  Avery;  21st  North  Car- 
olina, Col.  W.  W.  Kirkland;  54th  North  Carolina, 
Col.  J.  C.  T.  McDonald;  57th  North  Carolina,  Col.  A. 
C.  Godwin;  1st  North  Carolina  battalion,  Maj.  R.  H. 
Wharton. 


164  How  a  One-Legged  Rebel  Lives. 

RHODES'    DIVISION. 

Major- General  R.  B.  Rhodes. 

Daniel's  Brigade — Brigadier- General  Junius  Daniel, 
commanding;  3 2d  North  Carolina  regiment,  Col.  K.  C. 
Bravale;  43d  North  Carolina,  Col.  Thos.  S.  Keenan; 
45th  North  Carolina,  Lieut. -Col.  Samuel  H.  Boyd;  53d 
North  Carolina,  Col.  W.  A.  Owens;  2d  North  Carolina 
battalion,  Lieut. -Col.  H.  S.  Andrews. 

Doles'  Brigade — Brigadier-General  George  Doles, 
commanding;  4th  Georgia,  Lieut. -Col.  D.  R.  E.  Winn; 
12th  Georgia,  Col.  Edward  Willis;  21st  Georgia,  Col. 
John  T.  Mercer;  44th  Georgia,  Col.  S.  P.  Lumpkin. 

Ramseur's  Brigade — Brigadier- General  S.  D.  Ram- 
seur,  commanding;  2d  North  Carolina  regiment,  Maj. 
B.  W.  Hurt;  4th  North  Carolina,  Col.  Bryan  Grimes; 
14th  North  Carolina,  Col.  R.  T.  Bennett;  30th  North 
Carolina,  Col.  F.  M.  Parker. 

Iverson's  Brigade — Brigadier- General  Alfred  Iver- 
son,  commanding;  5th  North  Carolina  regiment,  Capt. 
S.  B.  West;  12th  North  Carolina,  Lieut. -Col.  W.  S. 
Davis;  20th  North  Carolina,  Lieut. -Col.  N.  Slough; 
23d  North  Carolina,  Col.  D.  H.  Christie. 

Rhodes'  Brigade — Col.  B.  A.  Oneal,  commanding; 
3d  Alabama  regiment,  Col.  C.  A.  Battle;  5th  Alabama, 
Col.  J.  M.  Hall;  6th  Alabama,  Col.  J.  N.  Lightfoot; 
12th  Alabama,  Col.  S.  B.  Pickens;  26th  Alabama, 
Lieut. -Col.  J.  C.  Goodgame. 

JOHNSON'S   DIVISION. 

Major-General  Edward  Johnson. 

Stuart's  Brigade — Brigadier- General  Geo.  H.  Stuart, 


How  a  One-Legged  Rebel  Lives.  165 

commanding;  ioth  Virginia  regiment,  Col.  B.  T.  H.. 
Warren;  23d  Virginia,  Col.  A.  G.  Taliaferro;  37th 
Virginia,  Col.  T.  V.  Williams;  1st  North  Carolina 
regiment,  Col.  J.  A.  McDowell;  3d  North  Carolina, 
Lieutenant- Colonel  Thurston. 

Stonewall  Brigade — Brigadier- General  Jas.  A.  Wal- 
ker, commanding:  2d  Virginia  regiment,  Col.  J.  G.  A. 
Nadensbousch;  4th  Virginia,  Col.  Chas.  A.  Ronald; 
5th  Virginia,  Col.  J.  H.  S.  Funk;  27th  Virginia,  Col. 
J.  K.  Bdmondson;  33d  Virginia,  Col.  F.  M.  Holliday. 

Jones'  Brigade — Brigadier- General  John  M.  Jones, 
commanding;  21st  Virginia  regiment,  Captain  Mose- 
ley;  42 d  Virginia,  Lieutenant- Colonel  Withers;  44th 
Virginia,  Captain  Buckner;  48th  Virginia,  Col.  T.  S. 
Garnett;  50th  Virginia,  Colonel  Vandevauter. 

Nicholls'  Brigade — Colonel  J.  M.  Williams,  com- 
manding (Gen.  F.  T.  Nicholls  wounded);  1st  Louisiana 
regiment,  Col.  Wm.  R.  Shivers;  2d  Louisiana  regi- 
ment, Col.  J.  M.  Williams;  ioth  Louisiana  regiment, 
Col.  K.  Waggaman;  14th  Louisiana  regiment,  Col.  Z. 
York;  15th  Louisiana  regiment,  Colonel  Edward 
Pendleton. 

ARTIIJ^RY   OF  TH£    SECOND    CORPS. 

Colonel  S.  Crutchfield,  commanding. 

Battalion— Lieut. -Col.  Thos.  H.  Carter,  Maj.  Carter 
M.  Braxton. 

Batteries— Captain  Page's,  Fry's,  Carter's,  Reese's. 

Battalion — Lieut. -Col.  H.  P.  Jones,  Major  Brocken- 
borough. 


166  How  a  O  tie- Legged  Rebel  Lives. 

Batteries — Carrington's,  Garber's,  Thompson's  and 
Tanner's. 

Battalion — Lieut. -Col.  S.  Andrews,  Major  Lattimer. 

Batteries — Brown's,  Dermot's,  Carpenter's,  Raines'. 

Battalion — Lieut. -Col.  Nelson,  Major  Page. 

Batteries — Kirkpatrick's,  Massie's,  Milledge's. 

Battalion — Col.  J.  T.  Brown,  Major  Hardaway. 

Batteries — Dance's,  Watson's,  Smith's,  Huff's  and 
Graham's. 

Total  number  guns — Artillery  Second  Corps — 82. 

Third  Corps — Lieut. -Gen.  A.  P.  JLill,  Commanding. 
andkrson's   division. 

Major-General  R.  H.  Anderson. 

Wilcox's  Brigade — Brigadier- General  Cadmus  M. 
Wilcox;  8th  Alabama  regiment,  Col.  T.  L.  Royster; 
9th  Alabama,  Col.  S.  Henry;  10th  Alabama,  Col.  W. 
H.  Forney;  nth  Alabama,  Col.  J.  C.  C.  Saunders; 
14th  Alabama,  Col.  L.  P.  Pinkhard. 

Mahone's  Brigade — Brigadier- General  Wm.  Mahone; 
6th  Virginia  regiment,  Col.  G.  T.  Rogers;  12th  Vir- 
ginia, Col.  D.  A.  Weisiger;  16th  Virginia,  Lieut. -Col. 
Joseph  H.  Ham;  41st  Virginia,  Col.  W.  A.  Parham; 
61st  Virginia,  Col.  V.  D.  Groner. 

Posey's  Brigade — Brigadier- General  Carnot  Posey; 
46th  Mississippi,  Col.  Joseph  Payne;  16th  Mississippi, 
Col.  S.  K.  Baker;  19th  Mississippi,  Col.  John  Mullins; 
12th  Mississippi,  Col.  W.  H.  Taylor. 

Wright's  Brigade — Brigadier- General  A.  R.  Wright; 
2d  Georgia  battalion,   Maj.  G.  W.  Ross;    3d  Georgia 


How  a  One-Legged  Rebel  Lives.  1§1 

regiment,  Col.  E.  J.  Walker;  2 2d  Georgia  regiment, 
Col.  R.  H.  Jones;  48th  Georgia  regiment,  Col.  Wm. 
Gibson. 

Perry's  Brigade — Brigadier- General  E.  A.  Perry; 
2d  Florida  regiment,  Iaeut.-Col.  S.  G.  Pyles;  5th 
Florida,  Col.  J.  C.  Hately;  8th  Florida,  Col.  David 
Long. 

hkth's  division. 

First  Brigade — Brigadier- General  Pettigrew;  42d, 
nth,  26th,  44th,  47th,  52d,  17th  North  Carolina  regi- 
ments. 

Second  Brigade — Brigadier- General  Field;  40th, 55th, 
47th  Virginia  regiments. 

Third  Brigade — Brigadier- General  Archer;  1st,  7th, 
14th  Tennessee  regiments,  13th  Alabama  regiment. 

Fourth  Brigade — Brigadier- General  Cook;  15th,  27th, 
46th,  48th  North  Carolina  regiments. 

Fifth  Brigade — Brigadier- General  Davis;  2d,  nth, 
42d  Mississippi,  55th  North  Carolina  regiments. 

MAJOR-GKNKRAIv  PKNDKR'S   DIVISION. 

First  Brigade — Brigadier- General  McGowan;  1st, 
12th,  13th,  14th  South  Carolina  regiments. 

Second  Brigade — Brigadier- General  I^ane;  7th,  18th, 
28th,  33d,  37th  North  Carolina  regiments. 

Third  Brigade — Brigadier- General  Thomas;  14th, 
35th,  45th,  49th  Georgia  regiments. 

Fourth  Brigade — Pender's  old  brigade;  13th,  16th, 
22d,  34th,  38th  North  Carolina  regiments. 


168         How  a  One- Legged  Rebel  Lives. 

ARTILLERY  OF   THE   THIRD    CORPS. 

Colonel  R.  Lindsay  Walker,  commanding. 
Battalion— Maj.  D.  G.  Mcintosh,  Maj.W.  F.  Poague. 
Batteries — Hurt's,  Rice's,  Luck's,  Johnson's. 
Battalion — Lieut. -Col.  Garnett,  Maj.  Richardson. 
Batteries — Lewis',  Maurin's,  Moore's,  Grandy's. 
Battalion — Major  Cutshaw. 
Batteries — Wyatt's,  Woolfolk's,  Brooke's. 
Battalion — Maj.  Willie  P.  Pegram. 
Batteries — Brunson's,  Davidson's,  Crenshaw's,  Ma- 
graw's,  Marye's. 

Battalion — Lieut. -Col.  Cutts,  Maj.  Lane. 
Batteries — Wingfield's,  Ross',  Patterson's. 
Total  number  guns — Artillery  Third  Corps — 83. 
Total  number  guns — Army  Northern  Virginia — 248. 

CAVAIyRY   CORPS   A.    N.    V. 

Major-General  J.  E.  B.  Stuart. 

Hampton' s  Brigade — Brigadier -General Wade  Hamp- 
ton, commanding. 

Fitz.  Lee's  Brigade — Brigadier- General  Fitzhugh 
Lee,  commanding. 

W.  H.  F.  Lee's  Brigade — Colonel  Chambliss,  com- 
manding. 

Robertson's  Brigade — Brigadier- General  B.  H.  Rob- 
ertson, commanding. 

Jones'  Brigade — Brigadier- General  W.  K.  Jones, 
commanding. 

Imboden's  Brigade — Brigadier- General  J.  D.  Imbo- 
den,  commanding. 


How  a  One- Legged  Rebel  Lives.  169 

Jenkens'  Brigade — Brigadier- General  A.  G.  Jenken's, 
commanding. 

White's  Battalion— Ueut. -Col.  K.  V.  White,  com- 
manding. 

Baker's  Brigade — 


Roster  of  the  Federal  Army  Engaged  in  the  Battle  of 
Gettysburg,   Wednesday,    Thursday  and  Friday,  July 
i,  2  and  j,  1 86 j — Major- General  George  G.  Meade, 
Commanding. 

STAFF. 

Maj.-Gen.  Daniel  Butterfield,  Chief  of  Staff. 

Brig. -Gen.  M.  R.  Patrick,  Provost  Marshal- General. 

Brig. -Gen.  Seth  Williams,  Adjutant- General. 

Brig. -Gen.  Edmund  Schriver,  Inspector- General. 

Brig. -Gen.  Rufus  Ingalls,  Quartermaster- General. 

Col.  Henry  F.  Clarke,  Chief  Commissary  of  Sub- 
sistence. 

Maj.  Jonathan  L,etterman,  Surgeon,  Chief  of  Medical 
Department. 

Brig. -Gen.  G.  K.  Warren,  Chief  Engineer. 

Maj.  G.  W.  Flagler,  Chief  of  Ordnance. 

Maj.-Gen.  Alfred  Pleasanton,  Chief  of  Cavalry. 

Brig. -Gen.  Henry  J.  Hunt,  Chief  of  Artillery. 

Capt.  Iy.  B.  Norton,  Chief  Signal  Officer. 

Maj.-Gen.  John  F.  Reynolds,  commanding  the  First, 
Third  and  Eleventh  Corps  on  July  i . 


170         How  a  One- Legged  Rebel  Lives. 

Maj.-Gen.  Henry  W.  Slocum,  commanding  the  Right 
Wing  on  July  2  and  3. 

Maj.-Gen.  Winfield  S.  Hancock,  commanding  the 
L,eft  Center  on  July  2  and  3. 

First  Corps — Maj.-Gen.  John  F.  Reynolds,  Permanent 
Commander. 

Maj.-Gen.  Abner  Doubleday,  commanding  on  July  1. 
Maj.-Gen.  John  Newton,  commanding  on  July  2-3. 

FIRST    DIVISION. 

Brig. -Gen.  James  S.  Wadsworth,  commanding. 

First  Brigade — Brigadier- General  Solomon  Meredith, 
wounded  and  succeeded  by  Col.  H.  A.  Morrow;  also 
wounded  and  succeeded  by  Col.  W.  W.  Robinson;  2d 
Wisconsin,  Col.  I^ucius  Fairchild;  6th  Wisconsin,  Col. 
R.  R.  Dawes;  7th  Wisconsin,  Col.  W.  W.  Robinson; 
24th  Michigan,  Col.  H.  A.  Morrow;  19th  Indiana, 
Col.  Samuel  Williams. 

Second  Brigade — Brigadier- General  I^ysander  Cut- 
ler, commanding;  7th  Indiana,  Maj.  Ira  G.  Grover; 
56th  Pennsylvania,  Col.  J.  W.  Hoffman;  76th  New 
York,  Maj.  A.  J.  Grover;  95th  New  York,  Col.  Geo. 
H.  Biddle;  147th  New  York,  Lieut.-Col.  F.  C.  Miller; 
14th  Brooklyn,  Col.  E.  B.  Fowler. 

SECOND   DIVISION. 

Brigadier- General  John  C.  Robinson,  commanding. 

First  Brigade — Brigadier-General  Gabriel  R.  Paul, 

commanding;   16th  Maine,  Col.  Chas.  W.  Tilden;   13th 


How  a  One- Legged  Rebel  Lives.  171 

Massachusetts,  Col.  S.  H.  Leonard;  94th  New  York, 
Col.  A.  R.  Root;  104th  New  York,  Col.  Gilbert  G. 
Prey;  107th  Pennsylvania,  Col.  T.  F.  McCoy;  nth 
Pennsylvania,  Col.  R.  S.  Coulter. 

THIRD   DIVISION. 

Major- General  Abner  Doubleday,  commanding. 

First  Brigade — Brigadier- General  Thos.  A.  Rowley, 
commanding;  121st  Pennsylvania,  Col.  Chapman  Bid- 
die;  i42d  Pennsylvania,  Col.  Robt.  P.  Cummings; 
151st  Pennsylvania,  Iyieut.-Col.  Geo.  F.  McFarland; 
20th  New  York,  S.  M.,  Col.  Theodore  B.  Gates. 

Second  Brigade — Colonel  Roy  Stone,  commanding; 
143d  Pennsylvania,  Col.  Edmund  Iy.  Dana;  149th 
Pennsylvania,  Iyieut.-Col.  Walton  Dwight;  150th 
Pennsylvania,  Col.  L,anghorne  Wistar. 

Third  Brigade — Brigadier- General  George  J.  Stan- 
nard;  12th  Vermont,  Col.  Asa  P.  Blount;  13th  Ver- 
mont, Col.  Francis  V.  Randall;  14th  Vermont,  Col. 
W.  T.  Nichols;  15th  Vermont,  Col.  Redfield  Proctor; 
1 6th  Vermont,  Col.  W.  G.  Veazey. 

Artillery  Brigade — Colonel  Chas.  S.  Wainwright; 
2d  Maine,  Capt.  Jas.  A.  Hall;  5th  Maine,  Capt.  G.  T. 
Stevens;  Battery  B,  1st  Pennsylvania,  Capt.  J.  H. 
Cooper;  Battery  B,  4th  United  States,  Iyieut.  James 
Stewart;  Battery  Iy,  1st  New  York,  Capt.  J.  A.  Rey- 
nolds. 


172  How  a  One-Legged  Rebel  Lives. 

Second  Corps — Major- General  Winfield  S.  Hancock, 
Commanding. 

FIRST    DIVISION. 

Brigadier- General  John  C.  Caldwell. 

First  Brigade — Colonel  Edward  E.  Cross,  command- 
ing; 5th  New  Hampshire,  Col.  E.  E.  Cross;  61st  New 
York,  Lieut. -Col.  Oscar  K.  Broady;  81st  Pennsylvania, 
Col.  H.  Boyd  McKeen;  148th  Pennsylvania,  Lieut. - 
Col.  Robert  McFarland. 

Second  Brigade — Colonel  Patrick  Kelly,  command- 
ing; 28th  Massachusetts,  Col.  Richard  Byrnes;  63d 
New  York,  Lieut. -Col.  R.  C.  Bentley;  69th  New  York, 
Captain  Maroney;  88th  New  York,  Col.  Patrick  Kel- 
ley;   11 6th  Pennsylvania,   Maj.  St.  C.  A.  Mulholland. 

Third  Brigade — Brigadier-General  S.  K.  Zook;  52d 
New  York,  Lieut. -Col.  Charles  G.  Freudenberg;  57th 
New  York,  Lieut. -Col.  A.  B.  Chapman;  66th  New 
York,  Col.  Orlando  W.  Morris;  140th  Pennsylvania, 
Col.  Richard  P.  Roberts. 

Fourth  Brigade — Colonel  John  R.  Brooke,  command- 
ing; 27th  Connecticut,  Lieut. -Col.  Henry  C.  Merwin; 
64th  New  York,  Col.  Daniel  G.  Bingham;  53d  Penn- 
sylvania, Lieut. -Col.  Richard  McMichael;  145th  Penn- 
sylvania, Col.  H.  L.  Brown;  2d  Delaware,  Col.  Wm. 
P.  Bailey. 

SECOND   DIVISION. 

Brigadier- General  John  Gibbon,  commander. 
First  Brigade — Brigadier- General  William  Harrow; 
19th  Maine,    Col.  F.  E.  Heath;    15th  Massachusetts, 


How  a  One- Legged  Rebel  Lives.  173 

Col.  Geo.  H.  Ward;  82d  New  York,  Col.  Henry  W. 
Huston;   ist  Minnesota,  Col.  William  Colvil. 

Second  Brigade — Brigadier- General  Alexander  S. 
Webb;  69th  Pennsylvania,  Col.  Dennis  O.  Kane;  71st 
Pennsylvania,  Lieut. -Col.  R.  Penn  Smith;  72d  Penn- 
sylvania, Col.  D.  W.  C.  Baxter;  106th  Pennsylvania, 
Lieut. -Col.  Theodore  Hesser. 

Third  Brigade — Colonel  Norman  J.  Hall,  command- 
ing; 19th  Massachusetts,  Col.  Arthur  P.  Devereux; 
20th  Massachusetts,  Col.  Paul  J.  Revere;  42d  New 
York,  Col.  J.  B.  Mallon;  59th  New  York,  Lieut-Col. 
Max  A.  Thoman;  7th  Michigan,  Col.  N.  J.  Hall. 
Unattached — The  Andrew  Sharpshooters. 

THIRD   DIVISION. 

Brigadier- General  Alexander  Hays,  commanding. 

First  Brigade — Colonel  Samuel  S.  Carroll,  command- 
ing; 4th  Ohio,  Lieut. -Col.  James  H.  Godman;  8th 
Ohio,  Lieut. -Col.  Franklin  Sawyer;  14th  Indiana,  Col. 
John  Coons;  7th  West  Virginia,   Col.  Joseph  Snyder. 

Second  Brigade — Colonel  Thos.  A.  Smyth,  com- 
manding; 14th  Connecticut,  Maj.  J.  T.  Ellis;  10th 
New  York,  Maj.  J.  F.  Hopper;  108th  New  York,  Col. 
C.  J.  Powers;  12th  New  Jersey,  Maj.  J.  T.  Hill;  ist 
Delaware,  Lieut. -Col.  Edward  P.  Harris. 

Third  Brigade — Colonel  Geo.  L.  Willard,  command- 
ing; 39th  New  York,  Lieut. -Col.  Jas.  G.  Hughes; 
1  nth  New  York,  Col.  Clinton  D.  McDougall;  125th 
New  York,  Lieut. -Col.  L.  Crandall;  126th  New  York, 
Col.  E.  Sherrell. 


174         How  a  One-Legged  Rebel  Lives. 

Artillery  Brigade — Captain  J.  G.  Hazzard,  com- 
manding; Battery  B,  ist  New  York,  Capt.  Jas.  McK. 
Rorty;  Battery  B,  ist  Rhode  Island,  Lieut.  T.  Fred- 
erick Brown;  Battery  A,  ist  Rhode  Island,  Lieut. 
Wm.  A.  Arnold;  Battery  I,  ist  United  States,  Lieut. 
G.  A.  Woodruff;  Battery  A,  4th  United  States,  Lieut. 
A.  H.  Gushing    • 

Cavalry  Squadron — Captain  Riley  Johnson,  com- 
manding; Companies  D  and  K,  6th  New  York. 

Third  Corps — Maj or- General  Daniel  E.  Sickles. 

FIRST   DIVISION. 

Maj  or- General  David  B.  Birney. 

First  Brigade — Brigadier- General  C.  K.  Graham; 
57th  Pennsylvania,  Col.  Peter  Sides;  63d  Pennsyl- 
vania, Lieut. -Col.  John  A.  Danks;  68th  Pennsylvania, 
Col.  A.  H.  Tippin;    105th  Pennsylvania,   Col.   Calvin 

A.  Craig;  114th  Pennsylvania,  Lieut. -Col.  Fred.  K. 
Cavada;  141st  Pennsylvania,  Col.  H.  J.  Madill. 
(Note. — The  2d  New  Hampshire,  3d  Maine,  7th  and 
8th  New  Jersey,  also  formed  part  of  Graham  line  on 
the  2d.) 

Second  Brigade — Brigadier- General  J.  H.  H.  Ward; 
ist  United  States  Sharpshooters,  Col.  H.  Berdan;  4th 
Maine,  Col.  Elijah  Walker;  2d  United  States  Sharp- 
shooters,  Maj.  H.  H.  Stoughton;    3d  Maine,    Col.  M. 

B.  Lakeman;  20th  Indiana,  Col.  John  Wheeler;  99th 
Pennsylvania,  Major  John  W.  Moore;  86th  New  York, 
Lieut. -Col.  Benjamin  Higgins;  124th  New  York,  Col. 
A.  Van  Horn  Ellis. 

Third    Brigade— Colonel    Philip    R.    DeTrobriand, 


How  a  One-Legged  Rebel  Lives.  175 

commanding;  3d  Michigan,  Col.  Byron  R.  Pierce;  5th 
Michigan,  Lieut. -Col.  John  Pulford;  40th  New  York, 
Col.  Thos.  W.  Eagan;  17th  Maine,  Lieut. -Col.  Chas. 
B.  Merrill;  110th  Pennsylvania,  Lieut. -Col.  D.  M. 
Jones. 

SECOND  DIVISION. 

Brigadier- General  Andrew  A.  Humphreys. 

First  Brigade — Brigadier- General  Joseph  B.  Carr; 
1st  Massachusetts,  Col.  N.  B.  McLaughlin;  nth  Mas- 
sachusetts, Lieut. -Col.  Porter  D.  Tripp;  16th  Massa- 
chusetts, Lieut. -Col.  Waldo  Merriam;  26th  Pennsyl- 
vania, Capt.  Geo.  W.  Tomlinson;  nth  New  Jersey, 
Col.  Robert  McAllister;  84th  Pennsylvania  (not  en- 
gaged), Lieut. -Col.  Milton  Opp;  12th  New  Hampshire, 
Capt.  J.  F.  Langley. 

Second  Brigade — Colonel  Wm.  R.  Brewster,  com- 
manding; 70th  New  York  (1st  Excelsior),  Maj.  Daniel 
Mahen;  71st  New  York  (2d  Excelsior),  Col.  Henry 
L.  Potter;  7 2d  New  York  (3d  Excelsior),  Col.  Wm. 
O.  Stevens;  73d  New  York  (4th  Excelsior),  Maj.  M. 
W.  Burns;  74th  New  York  (5th  Excelsior),  Lieut. - 
Col.  Thomas  Holt;  120th  New  York,  Lieut.-Col.  Cor- 
nelius D.  Westbrook. 

Third  Brigade — Colonel  George  C.  Burling,  com- 
manding; 5th  New  Jersey,  Col.  W.  J.  Sewell;  6th  New 
Jersey,  Lieut.-Col.  S.  R.  Gilkyson;  7th  New  Jersey, 
Col.  L.  R.  Francine;  8th  New  Jersey,  Col.  John  Ram- 
sey; 115th  Pennsylvania,  Lieut.-Col.  J.  P.  Dunne;  2d 
New  Hampshire,  Col.  E.  L.  Bailey. 

Artillery  Brigade — Captain  Geo.  E.  Randolph,  com- 
manding; Battery  E,  1st  Rhode  Island,  Lieut.  J.  K. 
Bucklyn;  Battery  B,  1st  New  Jersey,  Capt.  A.  J.  Clark; 
Battery  D,  1st  New  Jersey,  Capt.  Geo.  T.  Woodbury; 
Battery  K,  4th  United  States,  Lieut.  F.  W.  Seeley, 
Battery  D,  1st  New  York,  Capt.  Geo.  B.  Winslow; 
4th  New  York,  Capt.  Jas.  E.  Smith. 


176         How  a  One- Legged  Rebel  Lives. 

Fifth  Corps — Maj.-Gen.  George  Sykes,  Commanding. 

FIRST    DIVISION. 

Brigadier- General  James  Barnes,  commanding. 

First  Brigade — Colonel  W.  S.  Tilton,  commanding; 
1 8th  Massachusetts,  Col.  Joseph  Hayes;  22d  Massa- 
chusetts, Lieut. -Col.  Thomas  Sherman,  Jr.;  118th 
Pennsylvania,  Col.  Chas.  M.  Prevost;  ist  Michigan, 
Col.  Ira  C.  Abbott. 

Second  Brigade — Colonel  J.  B.  Sweitzer,  command- 
ing; 9th  Massachusetts,  Col.  Patrick  R.  Guiney;  32d 
Massachusetts,  Col.  Geo.  L.  Prescott;  4th  Michigan, 
Col.  Hamson  H.  Jeffords;  62d  Pennsylvania,  Lieut.  - 
Col.  James  C.  Hill. 

Third  Brigade — Colonel  Strong  Vincent,  command- 
ing; 20th  Maine,  Col.  Joshua  L-  Chamberlain;  44th 
New  York,  Col.  James  C.  Rice;  83d  Pennsylvania, 
Maj.  Wm.  H.  Lamont;  16th  Michigan,  Lieut. -Col.  N. 
B.  Welch. 

SECOND  DIVISION. 

Brigadier- General  Romayn  B.  Ay  res,   commanding. 

First  Brigade — Colonel  Hannibal  Day,  6th  United 
States  Infantry,  commanding;  3d  United  States  In- 
fantry, Capt.  H.  W.  Freedley;  4th  United  States 
Infantry,  Capt.  J.  W.  Adams;  6th  United  States  In- 
fantry, Capt.  Levi  C.  Bootes;  12th  United  States 
Infantry,  Capt.  Thomas  S.  Dunn;  14th  United  States 
Infantry,  Maj.  G.  R.  Giddings. 

Second  Brigade — Colonel  Sidney  Burbank,  2d  United 
States  Infantry,  commanding;  2d  United  States  In- 
fantry, Maj.  A.  T.  Lee;  7th  United  States  Infantry, 
Capt.  D.  P.  Hancock;  10th  United  States  Infantry, 
Capt.  William  Clinton;  nth  United  States  Infantry, 
Maj.  DeL.  Floyd  Jones;  17th  United  States  Infantry, 
Lieut. -Col.  Durrell  Green. 


How  a  One- Legged  Rebel  Lives.  177 

Third  Brigade — Brigadier- General  S.  H.  Weed; 
140th  New  York,  Col.  Patrick  H.  O'Rorcke;  146th 
New  York,  Col.  Kenner  Garrard;  91st  Pennsylvania, 
Lieut. -Col.  J.  H.  Sinex;  155th  Pennsylvania,  Lieut.  - 
Col.  John  H.  Cain. 

THIRD   DIVISION. 

Brigadier- General  S.  Wiley  Crawford. 

First  Brigade — Colonel  William  McCandless,  com- 
manding; 1  st  Pennsylvania  Reserves,  Col.  W.  C. 
Talley;  2d  Pennsylvania  Reserves,  Lieut. -Col.  George 
A.  Woodward;  6th  Pennsylvania  Reserves,  Col.  Wel- 
lington H.  Knt;  nth  Pennsylvania  Reserves,  Col.  S. 
M.  Jackson;  1st  Rifles  (Bucktails),  Col.  Charles  J. 
Taylor. 

Second  Brigade — Colonel  Joseph  W.  Fisher,  com- 
manding; 5th  Pennsylvania  Reserves,  Lieut. -Col. 
George  Dare;  9th  Pennsylvania  Reserves,  Lieut. -Col. 
James  McK.  Snodgrass;  10th  Pennsylvania  Reserves, 
Col.  A.  J.  Warner;  12th  Pennsylvania  Reserves,  Col. 
M.  D.  Hardin. 

ARTIDI.BRY   BRIGADE. 

Captain  A.  P.  Martin,  commanding. 

Battery  D— 5th  United  States,  Lieut.  Charles  B. 
Hazlett. 

Battery  I — 5th  United  States,  Lieut.  Leonard  Martin. 

Battery  C — 1st  New  York,  Capt.  Albert  Barnes. 

Battery  L— 1st  Ohio,  Capt.  N.  C.  Gibbs. 

Battery  C — Massachusetts,  Capt.  A.  P.  Martin. 

Provost  Guard — Capt.  W.  H.  Ryder;  Companies  B 
and  D,  12th  New  York. 


178  How  a  One- Legged  Rebel  Lives. 

Sixth  Corps — Major- General  John  Sedgwick. 

FIRST    DIVISION. 

Brigadier- General  H.  G.  Wright,  commanding. 

First  Brigade — Brigadier- General  A.  T.  A.  Torbert; 
i st  New  Jersey,  Lieut. -Col.  William  Henry,  Jr.;  2d 
New  Jersey,  Col.  Samuel  L.  Buck;  3d  New  Jersey, 
Col.  Henry  W.  Brown;  15th  New  Jersey,  Col.  Wm. 
H.  Penrose. 

Second  Brigade — Brigadier-General  J.  J.  Bartlett; 
5th  Maine,  Col.  Clarke  S.  Ed wards;  121st  New  York, 
Col.  Emory  Upton;  95th  Pennsylvania,  Lieut. -Col. 
Edward  Carroll;  96th  Pennsylvania,  Lieut. -Col.  Wm. 
H.  Lessig. 

Third  Brigade — Brigadier- General  D.  A.  Russell; 
6th  Maine,  Col.  Hiram  Burnham;  49th  Pennsylvania, 
Col.  Wm.  H.  Irvin;  119th  Pennsylvania,  Col.  P.  C. 
Ellmaker;  5th  Wisconsin,  Col.  Thos.  S.  Allen. 

SECOND   DIVISION. 

Brigadier- General  A.  P.  Howe,  commanding. 

Second  Brigade — Col.  L.  A.  Grant,  commanding; 
2d  Vermont,  Col.  J.  H.  Walbridge;  3d  Vermont,  Col. 
T.  O.  Seaver;  4th  Vermont,  Col.  E.  H.  Stoughton; 
5th  Vermont,  Lieut. -Col.  John  R.  Lewis;  6th  Vermont, 
Lieut. -Col.  Elisha  L.  Barney. 

Third  Brigade — Brigadier- General  T.  A.  Neill;  7th 
Maine,  Lieut. -Col.  Seldon  Connor;  49th  New  York, 
Col.  D.  D.  Bidwell;  77th  New  York,  Col.  J.  B.  McKean; 
43d  New  York,  Col.  B.  F.  Baker;  61st  Pennsylvania, 
Maj.  Geo.  W.  Dawson. 

THIRD    DIVISION. 

Brigadier- General  Frank  Wheaton,  commanding. 
First  Brigade — Brigadier-General  Alexander  Shaler; 
65th  New  York,  Col.  J.  E.  Hamblin;  67th  New  York, 


How  a  One-Legged  Rebel  Lives.         179 

Col.  Nelson  Cross;  i22d  New  York,  Iyieut.-Col.  A.  W. 
Dwight;  23d  Pennsylvania,  Iyieut.-Col.  J.  F.  Glenn; 
82d  Pennsylvania,  Col.  Isaac  Bassett. 

Second  Brigade — Col.  H.  Iy.  Bustis,  commanding; 
7th  Massachusetts,  Iyieut.-Col.  Franklin  P.  Harlow; 
10th  Massachusetts,  Iyieut.-Col.  Jefford  M.  Decker; 
37th  Massachusetts,  Col.  Oliver  Edwards;  2d  Rhode 
Island,  Col.  Horatio  Rogers. 

Third  Brigade — Col.  David  I.  Nevin,  62d  New  York, 
commanding;  62 d  New  York,  Iyieut.-Col.  Theodore  P. 
Hamilton;  io2d  Pennsylvania,  Col.  John  W.  Patter- 
son; 93d  Pennsylvania,  Col.  Jas.  M.  McCarter;  98th 
Pennsylvania,  Maj.  John  B.  Kohler;  139th  Pennsyl- 
vania, Iyieut.-Col.  Wm.  H.  Moody. 

Artillery  Brigade — Col.  CM.  Tompkins,  command- 
ing; Battery  A,  1st  Massachusetts,  Capt.  W.  H. 
McCartney;  Battery  D,  2d  United  States,  Iyieut.  B.  B. 
Williston;  Battery  F,  5th  United  States,  Iyieut.  Leonard 
Martin;  Battery  G,  2d  United  States,  Iyieut.  John  H. 
Butler;  Battery  C,  1st  Rhode  Island,  Capt.  Richard 
Waterman;  Battery  G,  1st  Rhode  Island,  Capt.  Geo. 
W.  Adams;  1st  New  York,  Capt.  Andrew  Cowan;  3d 
New  York,  Capt.  Wm.  A.  Harn. 

Cavalry  Detachment — Capt.  Wm.  Iy.  Craft,  com- 
manding; Company  H,  1st  Pennsylvania;  Company 
Iy,  1st  New  Jersey. 

Eleventh  Corps — Maj  or- General  Oliver  O.  Howard, 
Commanding. 

FIRST    DIVISION. 

Brigadier- General  Francis  C.  Barlow,  commanding. 

First  Brigade — Col.  Leopold  Von  Gilsa,  command- 
ing; 41st  New  York,  Iyieut.-Col.  D.  Von  Binsiedel; 
54th  New  York,  Col.  Bugene  A.  Kezley;  68th  New 
York,  Col.  Gotthilf  Bourny  de  Ivernois;  53d  Pennsyl- 
vania, Col.  Charles  Glanz. 


180  How  a  One- Legged  Rebel  Lives. 

Second  Brigade — Brigadier- General  Adelbert  Ames; 
17th  Connecticut,  Lieut. -Col.  Douglass  Fowler;  25th 
Ohio,  Lieut. -Col.  Jeremiah  Williams;  75th  Ohio,  Col. 
A.  L.  Harris;   107th  Ohio,  Capt.  John  M.  Lutz. 

SECOND   DIVISION. 

Brigadier- General  A.  Von  Steinwehr,  commanding. 

First  Brigade — Col.  Charles  R.  Coster,  134th  New 
York,  commanding;  27th  Pennsylvania,  Lieut. -Col. 
Lorenz.  Cantador;  73d  Pennsylvania,  Capt.  Daniel  F. 
Kelley;  134th  New  York,  Lieut. -Col.  Allan  H.  Jack- 
son; 154th  New  York,  Col.  P.  H.  Jones. 

Second  Brigade — Col.  Orlando  Smith,  commanding; 
33d  Massachusetts,  Lieut. -Col.  Adin  B.  Underwopd; 
136th  New  York,  Col.  James  Wood,  Jr.;  55th  Ohio, 
Col.  Chas.  B.  Gambee;  73d  Ohio,  Lieut. -Col.  Richard 
Long. 

THIRD   DIVISION. 

Major- General  Carl  Schurz,  commanding. 

First  Brigade — Brigadier- General  A.  Von  Schim- 
meepfennig,  commanding;  45th  New  York,  Col.  Geo. 
Von  Arnsburg;  157th  New  York,  Col.  Philip  P. 
Brown,  Jr.;  74th  Pennsylvania,  Col.  Adolph  Von 
Hartung;  61st  Ohio,  Col.  S.  J.  McGroarty;  82d  Illi- 
nois, Col.  J.  Hecker. 

Second  Brigade — Col.  Waldimer  Kryzanowske,  com- 
manding; 58th  New  York,  Lieut. -Col.  August  Otto; 
119th  New  York,  Col.  John  T.  Lockman;  75th  Penn- 
sylvania, Col.  Francis  Mahler;  82d  Ohio,  Col.  James 
S.  Robson;  26th  Wisconsin,  Col.  Wm.  H.  Jacobs. 

Artillery  Brigade — Maj.  Thos.  W.  Osburn,  com- 
manding; Battery  I,  1st  New  York,  Capt.  Michael 
Wiedrick;  Battery  I,  1st  Ohio,  Capt.  Hubert  Dilger; 
Battery  K,  1st  Ohio,  Capt.  Lewis  Heckman;  Battery 
G,  4th  United  States,  Lieut.  Bayard  Wilkeson;  13th 
New  York,  Lieut.  William  Wheeler. 


How  a  One- Legged  Rebel  Lives.         181 

Twelfth  Corps — Brigadier-General  Alpheus  S,  Williams, 
Commanding. 

FIRST    DIVISION. 

Brigadier- General  Thomas  H.  Ruger,  commanding. 

First  Brigade — Col.  Archibald  L.  McDougall;  5th 
Connecticut,  Col.  Warren  W.  Packer;  20th  Connec- 
ticut, Iyieut.-Col.  Wm.  B.  Wooster;  123d  New  York, 
Col.  A.  Iy.  McDougall;  145th  New  York,  Col.  K.  h. 
Price;  46th  Pennsylvania,  Col.  James  Iy.  Self  ridge;  3d 
Maryland,  Col.  J.  M.  Sudsburg. 

Second  Brigade — Brigadier- General  Henry  H.  Lock- 
wood;  150th  New  York,  Col.  John  H.  Ketcham;  1st 
Maryland  (P.  H.  B.),  Col.  Wm.  P.  Maulsby;  1st 
Maryland  (K.  S.),  Col.  James  Wallace. 

Third  Brigade — Col.  Silas  Calgrove,  commanding; 
2d  Massachusetts,  Col.  Chas.  R.  Mudge;  107th  New 
York,  Col.  Miron  M.  Crane;  13th  New  Jersey,  Col. 
Ezra  A.  Carman;  27th  Indiana,  Iyieut.-Col.  John  R. 
Fesler;  3d  Wisconsin,  I,ieut.-Col.  Martin  Flood. 

SECOND   DIVISION. 

Brigadier- General  John  W.  Geary,  commanding. 

First  Brigade — Col.  Charles  Candy,  66th  Ohio,  com- 
manding; 28th  Pennsylvania,  Capt.  John  Flynn;  117th 
Pennsylvania,  Iyieut.-Col.  Ario  Pardee,  Jr.;  5th  Ohio, 
Col.  John  H.  Patrick;  7th  Ohio,  Col.  Wm.  R.  Creigh- 
ton;  29th  Ohio,  Capt.  W.  F.  Stevens;  66th  Ohio, 
Iyieut.-Col.  Eugene  Powell. 

Second  Brigade — 1st  Col.  Geo.  A.  Cobham;  2d  Brig.- 
Gen.  Thos.  L.  Kane;  29th  Pennsylvania,  Col.  William 
Rickards;  109th  Pennsylvania,  Capt.  Frederick  I,. 
Gimber;  111th  Pennsylvania,  Iyieut.-Col.  Thomas  M. 
Walker. 

Third  Brigade — Brigadier- General  Geo.  S.  Greene; 
60th  New  York,  Col.  Abel  Godard;    78th  New  York, 


182  How  a  One-Legged  Rebel  Lives, 

Lieut. -Col.  Herbert  Von  Hammer  stein;  io2d  New 
York,  Lieut. -Col.  James  C.  Lane;  137th  New  York, 
Col.  David  Ireland;  149th  New  York,  Col.  Henry  A. 
Barnum. 

ARTILLERY   BRIGADE. 

Lieutenant  E.  D.  Muhlenberg,  commanding. 

Battery  F,  4th  United  States,  Lieut.  S.  T.  Rugg; 
Battery  K,  5th  United  States,  Lieut.  D.  H.  Kinsie; 
Battery  M,  1st  New  York,  Lieut.  Chas.  E.  Winegar; 
Knapp's  Pennsylvania  Battery,  Lieut.  Charles  Atwell. 

Headquarter  Guard — Battalion,  10th  Maine. 

Cavalry  Corps — Major-General  Alfred  Pleasanton, 
Commanding. 

FIRST    DIVISION. 

Brigadier- General  John  Buford,  commanding. 

First  Brigade — Col.  William  Gamble,  8th  Illinois, 
commanding;  8th  New  York,  Col.  Benjamin  F.  Davis; 
8th  Illinois,  Lieut. -Col.  D.  R.  Clendenin;  2  squadrons 
1 2th  Illinois,  Col.  Amass  Voss;  3  squadrons  3d  Indiana, 
Col.  Geo.  H.  Chapman. 

Second  Brigade — Col.  Thos.  C.  Devin,  6th  New 
York,  commanding;  6th  New  York,  Lieut. -Col.  Wm. 
H.  Crocker;  9th  New  York,  Col.  William  Sackett; 
17th  Pennsylvania,  Col.  J.  H.  Kellogg;  3d  Virginia 
(detachment). 

Reserve  Brigade — Brigadier- General  Wesley  Merritt; 
1st  United  States,  Capt.  R.  S.  C.  Lord;  2d  United 
States,  Capt.  T.  F.  Rodenbough;  5th  United  States, 
Capt.  J.  W.  Mason;  6th  United  States,  Maj.  S.  H. 
Starr,  Capt.  G.  C.  Cram;  6th  Pennsylvania,  Maj.  Jas. 
H.  Hazletine. 


How  a  One- Legged  Rebel  Lives.  183 

SECOND   DIVISION. 

Brigadier- General  D.  McM.  Gregg,  commanding. 

(Headquarter  Guard,  Company  A,  ist  Ohio.) 

First  Brigade — Col.  J.  B.  Mcintosh,  commanding; 
ist  New  Jersey,  Maj.  M.  H.  Beamont;  ist  Pennsyl- 
vania, Col.  John  P.  Taylor;  3d  Pennsylvania,  Lieut.  - 
Cql.  KdwardS.  Jones;  ist  Maryland,  Lieut.-Col.  James 
M.  Deems;  ist  Massachusetts,  at  Headquarters,  6th 
Corps. 

Second  Brigade — Col.  Pennock  Huey,  commanding; 
2d  New  York,  4th  New  York,  8th  Pennsylvania,  6th 
Ohio. 

THIRD   DIVISION. 

Brigadier- General  Judson  Kilpatrick,  commanding. 

(Headquarter  Guard,  Company  C,  ist  Ohio.) 

First  Brigade — Brigadier- General  B.  J.  Farnsworth; 
5th  New  York,  Maj.  John  Hammond;  18th  Pennsyl- 
vania, Lieut.-Col.  Wm.  P.  Brinton;  ist  Vermont,  Col. 
Edward  D.  Sawyer;  ist  West  Virginia,  Col.  H.  P. 
Richmond. 

Second  Brigade — Brigadier- General  Geo.  A.  Custer; 
ist  Michigan,  Col.  Chas.  H.  Town;  5th  Michigan, 
Col.  Russell  A.  Alger;  6th  Michigan,  Col.  George 
Gray;  7th  Michigan,  Col.  Wm.  D.  Mann. 

HORSE   ARTILLERY. 

First  Brigade — Capt.  John  M.  Robertson,  command- 
ing; Batteries  B  and  L,  2d  United  States,  Lieut.  Ed- 
ward Heaton;  Battery  M,  2d  United  States,  Lieut.  A. 
C.  M.  Pennington;  Battery  E,  4th  United  States, 
Lieut.  S.  S.  Elder;  6th  New  York,  Lieut.  Joseph  W. 
Martin;  9th  Michigan,  Capt.  J.  J.  Daniels;  Battery  C, 
3d  United  States,  Lieut.  Wm.  D.  Fuller. 

Second  Brigade — Capt.  John  C.  Tidball,  command- 
ing; Batteries  G  and  E,  ist  United  States,  Capt.  A.  M. 
Randal;  Battery  K,  ist  United  States,   Capt.  Wm.  M. 


184         How  a  One-Legged  Rebel  Lives. 

Graham;    Battery  A,   2d  United  States,   Lieut.  John 
Calef;  Battery  C,  3d  United  States. 

ARTII^ERY  RESERVE. 

Brigadier- General  R.  O.  Tyler. 

First  Regular  Brigade — Capt.  D.  R.  Ransom,  com- 
manding; Battery  H,  1st  United  States,  Lieut.  C.  P. 
Kakin;  Batteries  F  and  K,  3d  United  States,  Lieut. 
J.  C.  Turnbull;  Battery  C,  4th  United  States,  Lieut. 
Evan  Thomas;  Battery  C,  5th  United  States,  Lieut. 
G.  V.  Weier. 

First  Voluntary  Brigade — Lieut. -Col.  F.  McGilvery, 
commanding;  15th  New  York,  Capt.  Patrick  Hart; 
Independent  Battery,  Pennsylvania,  Capt.  R.  B.  Rick- 
etts;  5th  Massachusetts,  Capt.  C.  A.  Phillips;  9th 
Massachusetts,  Capt.  John  Bigelow. 

Second  Volunteer  Brigade — Capt.  K.  D.  Taft,  com- 
manding; Batteries  B  and  M,  1st  Connecticut,  5th  New- 
York,  Capt.  Elijah  D.  Taft;  2d  Connecticut,  Lieut. 
John  W.  Sterling. 

Third  Volunteer  Brigade — Capt.  Jas.  F.  Hunting- 
ton, commanding;  Batteries  F  and  G,  1st  Pennsylvania, 
Capt.  R.  B.  Ricketts;  Battery  H,  1st  Ohio,  Capt.  Jas. 
F.  Huntington;  Battery  A,  1st  New  Hampshire,  Capt. 
F.  M.  Edgell;  Battery  C,  1st  West  Virginia,  Capt. 
Wallace  Hill. 

Fourth  Volunteer  Brigade — Capt.  R.  H.  Fitzhugh, 
commanding;  Battery  B,  1st  New  York,  Capt.  James 
McRorty;  Battery  G,  1st  New  York,  Capt.  Albert  M. 
Ames;  Battery  K,  1st  New  York  (nth  Battery  at- 
tached), Capt.  R.  H.  Fitzhugh;  Battery  A,  1st  Mary- 
land, Capt.  James  H.  Rigby;  Battery  A,  1st  New 
Jersey,  Lieut.  Augustin  N.  Parsons;  6th  Maine,  Lieut. 
Edwin  B.  Dow. 

Train  Guard — Major  Charles  Ewing,  commanding; 
4th  New  Jersey  Infantry. 


How  a  One- Legged  Rebel  Lives.  185 

Headquarter  Guard — Capt.  J.  C.  Fuller,  command- 
ing; Battery  C,  3 2d  Massachusetts. 

Detachments  at  Headquarters,  Army   of  the  Potomac ; 
During  the  Battle  of  Gettysburg,  Under  Orders  of  the-. 
Provost  Marshal  General  ; 

Brigadier- General  M.  R.  Patrick,  commanding;  93d. 
New  York,  8th  United  States,  1st  Massachusetts  Cav- 
alry, 2d  Pennsylvania  Cavalry,  Batteries  B  and  I,  6th. 
Pennsylvania  Cavalry,  Detachment  Regular  Cavalry;, 
United  States  Engineer  Battalion,  Capt.  Geo.  H.  Men- 
dill,  commanding. 

Guards  and  Orderlies — Capt.  D.  P.  Mann,  com- 
manding; Independent  Company  Oneida  Cavalry. 

Taking  it  for  granted  that  the  regiments  averaged 
about  the  same  number  of  men  in  each  army,  which 
we  can  reasonably  do,  perhaps  the  following  lists 
will  better  enable  the  reader  to  comprehend  the 
tremendous  force  brought  to  bear  against  each  other 
in  that  battle: 

ARMY   OF  NORTHERN  VIRGINIA. 
States.  Infantry  Reg'ts.    Cavalry.    Artillery.    Totals 

Alabama,  - 

South  Carolina,     - 

North  Carolina, 

Georgia, 

Florida,  - 

Iyouisiana,     - 

Mississippi,        - 

Virginia, 

Maryland,  - 

Arkansas,      - 

Texas,       --,-■•- 

Tennessee, 

182         30  67         279 


13 

2 

15 

14 

2 

5 

21 

41 

4 

4 

49 

33 

3 

7 

43 

3 

3- 

10 

7 

17 

11 

1 

12 

49 

20 

37 

106 

1 

1 

4 

<> 

1 

1 

3 

S 

3 

3 

186  How  a  One- Legged  Rebel  Lives. 

IN   THE    ARMY    OF    THE 
States. 

Connecticut, 
Delaware,      - 
Illinois, 
Indiana,        - 
Maine,       - 
Maryland,     - 
Massachusetts, 
Michigan,     - 
Minnesota, 
New  Jersey, 
New  Hampshire, 
New  York, 
Ohio, 

Pennsylvania, 
Rhode  island, 
Vermont,      - 
West  Virginia, 
Wisconsin, 
U.  S.  Regulars, 

249         39  72         360 

If  nothing  else  can  be  found  in  my  little  book  to 
recommend  it,  these,  mostly  official,  and  all  as 
nearly  accurate  as  can  be  gotten  after  twenty-five 
years,  ought  to  give  it  a  place  in  every  house  in  the 
United  States. 


POTOM4 

.C,    AT 

GETTYSBURG. 

Infaiitry. 

Cavalry. 

Artillery. 

Total. 

-       5 

3 

8 

2 

2 

1 

2 

3 

5 

I 

6 

-     10 

I 

3 

14 

3, 

2 

1 

6 

-     19 

2 

4 

25 

7 

4 

1 

12 

1 

1 

12 

1 

2 

15 

-       3 

1 

4 

69 

8 

15 

92 

-     13 

1 

4 

18 

68 

10 

7 

85 

1 

5 

6 

10 

1 

11 

1 

2 

1 

4 

6 

6 

-     13 

4 

25 

42 

How  a  One- Legged  Rebel  Lives.  187 


^ARTIFICIAL 

LEGS  AND  ARMS 

WITH  RUBBER  FEE?  AND  HANDS. 
MARKS'  IJ1PR0VED. 

Although  a  man  may  meet  with  the- 
misfortune  of  having  both  of  his  legs 
severed  from  his  body,  he  is  not  necessa- 
rily helpless.  By  having  artificial  legs 
applied,  with  rubber  feet  attached,  of" 
Marks'  patent,  he  can  be  restored  to  his 
usefulness.     • 

Fig.  2.  Figure  i  is  an  instantenous  photograph 

of  a  man  ascending  a  ladder;  he  has  two  artificial  legs  substi- 
tuting his  natural  ones,  which  were  crushed  by  a  railroad  acci- 
dent and  amputated.  Figure  2  exposes  his 
stumps.  With  his  rubber  feet  he  can  ascend 
or  descend  a  ladder,  balance  himself  on  the 
rungs,  and  have  his  hands  at  liberty,  He  can 
work  at  the  bench  and  earn  a  good  day's  wages. 
He  can  walk  and  mingle  with  persons  without 
betraying  his  loss;  in  fact  he  is  restored  to  his 
former  self  for  all  practical  purposes. 

With  the  old  method  of  complicated  ankle 
joints,  these  results  could  not  be  so  thoroughly 
attained.  Over  nineteen  thousand  in  practical, 
successful  and  satisfactory  use,  scattered  in  all 
parts  of  the  world.  Many  of  these  have  been 
supplied  without  presenting  themselves  to  the 
maker,  simply  by  sending  measurements  on  a 
copyright  formula,  which  any  one  can  easily  fill 
out.  The  press,  eminent  surgeons  and  compe- 
tent judges  commend  the  rubber  foot  and  hand 
for  their  remarkable  advantages. 

Awarded  the  highest  prizes  at  every  compet- 
itive exhibition.  .  ^ 

Indorsed  and  purchased  by  the  United  States 
Government  and  many  foreign  governments. 

A  Treaties  of  544  Pages  A         A         M  ARKS. 

800  Illustrations  sent  Free.    #■%  ■    ^  ■     ■  »■  J-m  ■  m  am.  ** 9 

[Established 45 Years.]         T01  Broadway,  /Mew  york. 


Pis:.  1 


188         How  a  One- Legged  Rebel  Lives. 


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How  a  One-Legged  Rebel  Lives. 


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How  a  One- Legged  Rebel  Lives.  191 


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192         How  a  One- Legged  Rebel  Lives. 

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